211 Things A Bright Girl Can Do

Not a list, but a book (which contains, by way of the contents, a list).

211 Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Bunty Cutler is an entertaining and informative book for bright girls! (Note: not actual girls, unless you want your nine year old to be mixing cocktails.)

This is a sister book to Tom Cutler’s 211 Things Bright Boy Can Do.

Part of the blurb (because it’s long so I won’t write it all out) says:

 “The essential life-skills handbook for bright girls of every age, featuring all the subjects they DIDN’T teach you at school or Girl Guides”.

The tone of the book is, in part, reminiscent of the instructional handbooks of yore, but with a tongue-in-cheek edge and a good dollop of wit served alongside the information, which is in itself pretty interesting.

Content of the book is split into several sections:

The Queen of Cuisine

The Compleat Homemaker (no that’s not a typo)

The Perfect Hostess

How to be Completely Gorgeous

Powder-Puff Mechanics

Jolly Hockeysticks!

How to be Bad

These sections make it pretty easy to pick and choose what to read, according to your mood and desires. So, if you’re feeling like a bad girl you can check out the Belly dancing for the complete novice or if you’re entertaining guests, why not take a gander at How to mix a Harvey Wallbanger?

However, don’t get your hopes up if you’re expecting this book to teach you how to make a macramé bikini. (Anyway, why would you want to?!)

I would have found some of this book very useful as a teenager, such as the part where it explains how to throw overarm (something my school PE teachers omitted to teach us, but expected us to know…)

I suppose I might find some of it useful in future, too!

Thanks to 211 Things A Bright Girl Can Do, I have learnt not only the art of tossing a cricket ball at a poor unsuspecting batswoman, but also handbrake turns (never mind that I don’t drive), how to prune roses, the best way to disembark from a ski lift, but also that it is far better to sit down with a Sidecar cocktail than attempt to look glamorous in the sidecar of a motorcycle.

Thank you, Bunty Cutler, for your pearls of infinite wisdom.

I think I’ll mix that cocktail now.

D.V.

Another book post!

This time, the book I want to write about is D.V. by Diana Vreeland

It is the autobiography of am inspirational and fashion-forward woman who can place being fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar and editor in chief of Vogue (US editions) among her accomplishments.

There’s no back-cover blurb to this, instead it’s on the back and front flap, and quite long, so here’s a small section of it:

“Peppering her glittering stories with knowing (and often outrageous) pronouncements, she ranges wide—from geishas to the incomparable art of Balenciaga, the genius of great servants, and her own reason for being absolutely certain that Chanel and the Duke of Windsor had once had “the romance of the world.”

[…]

Whatever her subject, you want her never to stop. Hers is a memoir like no other, and reading it is a pure pleasure.”

What drew me to read this book: Honestly? It featured in a couple of scenes in one of my favourite films, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.

As a result I wanted to read it, and managed to find it on Amazon Marketplace for £3.50 including postage from Pennsylvania, USA. (I then promptly forgot about it, and had a nice surprise when it landed on the doormat a few weeks later!)

The first line in this book is “I loathe nostalgia.”

An autobiography that begins with a statement like that is bound to be a good one.

Though set in a bygone era, Diana’s narrative style brings such life and colour to her anecdotes that it’s as if everything happened yesterday. The book comes across as though she is writing to you as an old friend and bringing you up to speed on some of the adventures you missed out on hearing about the first time. I enjoyed this aspect of the book; sometimes autobiographies are written in such a remote way that they seem impersonal. D.V. gives the impression that you could sit down with Diana upon your first meeting, but talk as though you’ve known each other forever.

I felt that I learnt from this book, too. The fact that Diana was a ‘lady of leisure’ until age 30 makes me feel less insecure about the fact I’ve reached my late twenties without anything much to show for myself, achievement/career-wise. (So thanks for that, Diana.)

That aside, Diana’s stories encourage us to be more daring in our own lives, to live for the moment, live in the moment and soak up all the things that happen to us! 

Some quotes:

“To this day, anything physical or strange…I can usually pass it off by saying it was a very healthy experience.”

“But I think when you’re young you should be a lot with yourself and your sufferings. Then one day you get out where the sun shines and the rain rains and the snow snows, and it all comes together.”

“But don’t think you were born too late. Everyone has that illusion. But you aren’t. The only problem is if you think too late.”

“Everything is new. At least everything is new the first time around.”

“[…] nothing was frightening to me. It was all part of the great adventure […]”

The TLDR: Autobiography wherein a nostalgia-loathing fashionista brings her bygone era back to life.

Join Me

Yup, I’m writing about books again, though this time it’s a more light-hearted one!

Join Me by Danny Wallace is summarised in the tagline as “the true story of a man who started a cult by accident.”

What the blurb says:

“Bored, Danny Wallace placed a whimsical small ad in a local paper, saying simply, ‘Join Me’. Within a month he was receiving letters and e-mails from strangers all over the country, eager to sign up.

Teachers, mechanics, sales reps, vicars, schoolchildren, pensioners – all pledged allegiance to his cause. No one knew what that cause was. Least of all Danny…

Soon he was proclaimed Leader. Increasingly obsessed, and possibly power crazed, he risked losing his sanity and his loyal girlfriend. But who could deny the attraction of a global following of thousands of devoted joinees?

If only he could come up with something for everyone to do…”

(As I copied the blurb from the book, I realised it sounds a bit like Twitter!)

What drew me to read this book was that I’d previously read Are You Dave Gorman? co-written between Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace, and I found it hilarious. So of course when I happened upon Join Me, I was totally up for reading another tale of someone doing something a little off-the-wall and having an adventure as a result.

This book is comical and a little peek into someone’s spontaneity-driven life. Danny’s project comes from boredom and good intentions, and grows thanks to a few pints with a mate and an increasing number of people joining something without even knowing why! (Pack mentality, madness or insatiable curiosity?)

Join Me, which Danny’s girlfriend Hanne would categorise as a ‘stupid boy-project’ (therefore he hasn’t told her about it yet) ends up taking Danny to different countries, talking on TV and campaigning on the streets to gain more ‘joinees’. Join Me even gets its own theme tune.

This book might seem predictable when you get into the story, but the occasional surprises keep you on your toes, and it also shows the power of networking.

Spoiler (because I forgot to note down quotes): He comes up with something for everyone to do. It’s a good thing.

Read it because: it will encourage you to do good things too. (And if you buy it new, Danny gets money. Money buys beer. So essentially you’re buying the guy a beer. That’s a good thing.)

The TLDR: It’s funny, it’s mad, it’s brilliant. And true.

The Alchemist

Today I want to write about a book that you’ve probably already heard of:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

According to the front cover, it’s sold 65 million copies, so the chances are that if you haven’t heard of it, somebody you know has!

I was given a copy of this book as a gift when I visited Norway in April, though it took me until the end of June to read it.

Now I’ve read it? I wonder what took me so long.

What the blurb says:

“Dreams are made to be followed.

Life is meant to be lived.

Some books are meant to be read, loved and passed on.

The Alchemist is one of those books.

It is the story of a shepherd boy from the Spanish region of Andalusia who dreams of travelling the world in search of a treasure as desirable as any ever found. From his home he journeys to the exotic markets of North Africa and then into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with the alchemist awaits him…

The Alchemist is an unforgettable fable about the essential wisdom of listening to our heart and, above all, following our dreams.”

What drew me to read this book: aside from the fact it was a gift, the main attraction was that the storyline involved travelling to Egypt! Going deeper than that, I was curious to discover what about this book had proved to be so ‘life-enhancing’ (according to The Times) to so many people.

Okay, so I can’t claim that The Alchemist has changed my life. I am still me, still spending time making jewellery, blogging and volunteering.

But it did give me things to think about. Whilst it is a translation, the messages within the story are still easy to understand.

As I’ve said with previous books, I think these things can be left up to individual interpretation, but here’s what I took away from the story:

• When our plans are delayed or seem impossible, maybe we are gaining the opportunity to learn something useful to us.
• Fear can be what stops us from reaching for our dreams.
• Our days become boring and ‘samey’ when we don’t notice all the good things that happen every day.
• Making a decision is just the beginning of things (you don’t always know where you’ll end up!)
• Achieving your dreams may not be easy. You will be tested, and you will need patience.

I think these are things we all know, in our hearts. It is reading them in a story that makes us realise them. It’s easy to forget and become lost in the mundane, it’s easy to feel disheartened when, try as you might, you don’t seem to be getting anywhere. This book is a gentle encouragement to seek out the good things and keep aiming for what we dream of.

Reading The Alchemist, the real connection came for me when I happened upon this line:

“[…] the mysterious chain that links one thing to another, the same chain that had caused him to become a shepherd, that had caused his recurring dream, that had brought him to a city near Africa […]”

The quote I noted down was longer, but contains spoilers :)
The important part is the ‘mysterious chain’ idea. A few weeks before reading this book, I was thinking about this sort of idea as I realised the long chain of events and experiences that had led me to make a really awesome friendship (I think I followed the chain back as far back as being a pre-teen, then thought ‘I have to write this down’ and lost track!)

Some more quotes:

“To the boy’s surprise, the Englishman took a chrome-plated revolver out of his bag and gave it to the men who were collecting the arms.

“Why a revolver?” he asked.

“It helped me to trust in people,” the Englishman answered.”

“In pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.”

“The battles may last for a long time, perhaps even years. There are powerful forces on both sides, and the war is important to both armies. It’s not a battle of good against evil. It’s a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer tan others—because Allah is on both sides.”

“My heart is a traitor,” the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses. “It doesn’t want me to go on.”

“That makes sense,” the alchemist answered. “Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dreams, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“The boy reached through the Soul of the World and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.”

“The alchemist said, “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.”

You may have noticed that the quotes I included above mention both God and Allah. I found this a likable aspect of the story: The Alchemist is written by a Catholic, but it hasn’t been written to portray Catholicism as ‘the one true path’. Rather, it is more of a spiritual story. It is moralistic.

The TLDR: An encouraging and moralistic story with spiritual themes that encourages the pursuit of dreams and aims to explain why we don’t follow them.

The End of Mr. Y

It’s been quite a while since I last wrote about books. Now I’m going to try and drag this whole Writing About Books idea back out of the darkness!

Previously, I tended to write about a selection of books by an author. From now on, I’ll probably write more about single books, as I read them.

…of course I’ve read half a dozen books since I last wrote about any, so it’s catch up time.

I’ll start with the book I read most recently: The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas

What the blurb says:

“When Ariel Manto uncovers a copy of The End of Mr. Y in a second-hand bookshop, she can’t believe her eyes.

She knows enough about its author, the eccentric Victorian scientist Thomas Lumas, to know that copies are exceedingly rare. And, some say, cursed.

With Mr. Y under her arm, Ariel finds herself swept into a thrilling adventure of love, sex, death and time-travel.”

What drew me to read this book is the mention of time-travel, curses, and overall air of mystery. Although it took me a little while to warm to the main character, I was soon sucked into the storyline and couldn’t put the book down!

One important thing to note is that this book will make you think.

It is by no means a light holiday read. It plays around with ideas of science, of philosophy, of religion.

But don’t let that put you off!

The End of Mr. Y really is worth the read, because it will make you think. It’s intelligently-written and refers to real historical figures and ideas (such as Einstein and his theory of relativity) alongside the fictional ones.

Whilst The End of Mr. Y is fiction, some of the questions and ideas within have been – and are still being – explored in the real world: by scientists, theologians, philosophers and so on.

It also remains a little uncertain about whether it is written from an atheistic or a theistic point of view. God is there, God isn’t there, God is created by us, God created us. It sounds contradictory but makes the story all the more interesting and I like that it isn’t too pushy with religion in either direction (though I suppose anyone could argue with me on that point. It depends how the individual interprets the storyline).

A couple of quotes:

“I may ask: why do I have an infestation of mice? Did someone curse me? Or did I just leave too much food out one day to tempt them? Or is life just as simple as there are mice?”

“‘Fact’ is a word. Science itself is just a collection of words. I’m guessing that truth exists beyond language, and what we call “reality”. It must do; well; if it exists at all, that is.”

These two quotes might seem a little hard-going or ‘out there’ but again, don’t be put off or misled on the basis of these. A good fifty percent of the book is easy to read and whilst thought-provoking, it isn’t mentally taxing. The day I began reading this book I was feeling lethargic and under the weather but I sailed through the first 250 or so pages with ease!

This has already become a favourite book, favourite enough that I found it a place on my bookshelf instead of storing it in the cupboard with other books. (Only favourite books and interesting-looking books make it onto that bookshelf, so its new home is alongside The Historianand Cat Spells.)

I will definitely be looking out for Scarlett Thomas’ other books!

The TLDR: This is a thought-provoking adventure-fantasy novel that presents ideas from science, religion, philosophy and more within a fantastic storyline. Read it!

Wreck This Journal Update

Back in March I wrote about the Wreck This Journal that I received as a Christmas present.

It's about time I posted an update on how that's going, right?

Remember how nice and pretty the pages were? After two trips to the shower, inks had run, glue had washed away and pages had wrinkled! Oh, and there were pink stains on it where the colour came out of my hair. :D

This page took me ages. Having looked around the internet, a lot of people picked a word at random and did some fantastic text art. I couldn't think of a word, so I took the instruction, 'Write one word over and over' absolutely literally.
Water damage means my painstakingly-written tiny 'one word' writing got all blurry.

Oddly enough, one page didn't get affected by the water...

Jun Machida

Time for another book post!

Today I’ll write about a Japanese author, Jun Machida, and his works Yan and the Pike and Yan and the Christmas Tree.

There is apparently a third book, Yan and the Pike’s Violin, but I can’t get hold of it (even though I pre-ordered it before its publication. Oh Amazon, you made my face sad...)

Anyway, small lamentations aside, these are some fantastic, surreal books. Apparently they began as illustrations (included in the books) that the author had on the walls of his café in Tokyo. The stories came into existence after the illustrations gained a lot of interest from his customers.

Yan and the Pike

Basically this book is about a cat named Yan, who goes to tea with Pike (yes, pike as in fish).

Yan does everything carefully, whether it’s making tea or cleaning his house. One day, there is a knock at his door and when he goes to answer, he finds a pike standing there.

They chat and become friends, and Pike borrows some salt and some butter from Yan. From that day, Pike appears at Yan’s door several times, and borrows several things from Yan. Then winter comes, and spring, summer and autumn...

This is a surreal but cute tale about two very strong characters! There are a number of references to Russian culture in the story, despite it being written by a Japanese author.

Yan and the Pike is a short yet charming book that can be enjoyed by any age group!

Yan and the Christmas Tree

Making a number of journeys to the Steppes of Russia, Yan makes new friends--a rook, and a rat. Once again the thoughtful cat has many adventures, and with the rook and the rat and his friend Pike, Yan find and decorates a fir tree for Christmas.

As with Yan and the Pike, this book makes more references to Russian culture and seems to take it a little more in-depth than before. It seems well-researched and the characters are very lovable.

If you only read one of these books, read: Yan and the Pike. It’s the first book, and is oh-so charming!

Cute Stuff

A while ago, my lovely friend Lilia of Horror Shock Lolipop sent me this fabulous book!

Cute Stuff by Japanese company Aranzi Aronzo is filled with easy how-tos for cute items that have a purpose!

There are patterns in the book that you can either trace or enlarge on a photocopier; helpfully the book tells you what percentage enlargement you need!

When I first looked through this book I wanted to make everything. Then I became sensible again and realised that I don't need three more cloth bags ;) 

Wreck This Journal!

One of the presents I received for Christmas 2012 was ‘Wreck This Journal’ by Keri Smith. It’s a fabulous, reader-involved book which, as the title suggests, you destroy. All in the name of creativity!

Completing it is one of my goals for 2013.

So far, it’s been inspiring. The instructions are varied and open to interpretation, even encouraging you to deface the cover (as you can see, I’ve not done that one yet!)

I’m having fun with picking pages at random to complete, and art materials that have been gathering dust in the cupboard for years are finally seeing the light of day!

One of the great things I’ve found about Wreck this Journal is that it’s helping me to lose restraint when being creative: to be careless, to rip and scribble and colour outside the lines. And I’m pretty pleased with some of the stuff I’ve churned out so far!

I would definitely recommend this book.

This was NOT a sponsored post. As with all posts on Unfortunately Oh!, I have written my opinions out of my own will without receiving any benefits in return. I just want to share with you the awesome things I’ve happened upon!

The Autobiography of Henry VIII

Previously, when I’ve written about books, I’ve focused more often on an author, than a specific work.

Today, for a change, I’ll write about just one book:

The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George

The full title is The Autobiography of Henry VIII, With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers.

As you may have gathered, it isn’t a real autobiography by England’s infamous monarch! However, it’s written in the style of an autobiography, from Henry VIII’s point of view, with the occasional interjection from Will, King Henry’s court jester.

The book begins during the reign of Mary I, with correspondence between Will Somers and Catherine Carey Knollys. Following on from this, the tale goes back to Henry VIII’s early years, from which it progresses to his death.

Obviously I can’t bang on too much about the content of this book, since that would spoil the storyline (though anyone can look up the life of Henry VIII and find everything out!)

In the first part of this book in particular, Henry is depicted as quite a naive man, which highlights the fact that he was never properly groomed to be a king and had to learn a lot as he went along. I found this an interesting slant on Henry VIII’s character, since all too often he is depicted only as an obese, belligerent tyrant.

On an historical level, I learnt a lot from this book! For example, I didn’t know that Henry wasn’t first in line for the throne. Nor did I know the specifics of the monarch’s reasons for being rid of his wives (excepting Jane Seymour, in which case death is pretty self-explanatory). I also wasn’t aware of how many children were born of King Henry and Katherine of Aragon, many of whom died soon after birth or were stillborn.

The book contains all the usual things you learn in history lessons: Henry VIII had six wives, was responsible for the creation of the Church of England, had many people executed, grew quite obese and had a ship called the Mary Rose, which sank. (This is pretty much the extent of my schooling when it comes to his reign!)

In addition to these, this book contains many more events and factoids relating to the life and reign of Henry VIII: his progress to the north, his going to war with France and that Calais was part of England, among other things.

Being a novel in the form of an autobiography, the book gives a lot of detail about Henry’s meeting his wives and his relationships with those around him. We see how his thoughts on people change, sometimes based on tiny actions or words. Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More and others--we see their fall from favour, dreaded yet inevitable. More’s death in particular was interesting to read, since in the book Henry seemed very reluctant to allow it (More was executed for treason).

According to the notes in the front of the book, it took Margaret George “fifteen years, about three hundred books of background reading, three visits to England and France, and five handwritten drafts for her answer to the question: what was Henry really like?”

Major kudos to the author for doing so much hard work! I feel that this level of background research suggests we can trust the content of the book.

Of course, there will be flights of fancy within the story (I’m somewhat disappointed at the lack of author’s notes to explain which parts were guessed/made up) but Margaret George has painted a truly vibrant picture of life in the Tudor court, and the workings of Henry VIII’s mind.

At over 900 pages this is a pretty hefty book, but is well worth the read.

If you like history and have interest in a good story, I highly recommend picking up this book!

I now feel compelled to find out more about Anne of Cleves. The book portrayed her as a woman poorly educated but quietly intelligent! I am intrigued!

Ryu Murakami

I figure it’s time for another book post!

This time around I'll write about some books written by Ryu Murakami.

I’ve only read a few of his books; however they are the kind generally referred to as ‘page turners’!

Piercing

This book centres around a character named Kawashima. He is married and has a baby girl...and voices in his head that urge him to commit murder.

As the story unfolds, we discover the truth about Kawashima’s past, and he starts planning to fulfil his desire to stab someone. Through his plans, Kawashima meets the equally disturbed prostitute Chiaki.

The two meet in Kawashima’s hotel room, but nothing goes as he planned...

This is a creepy book with a storyline that is simple, but chilling in that it’s told from the point of view of the psychopath. As I read it I found myself both horrified by and sympathetic towards Kawashima (which was in itself pretty horrifying!) which shows Ryu Murakami’s brilliance in writing psychological thrillers.

In the Miso Soup

Another psychological thriller set in Japan. In this tale we learn about Frank, an obese American tourist. He employs Kenji, a somewhat unofficial tourist guide, to show him around. Kenji, with his Pidgin English and knowledge of the seedier side of Japan, begins to notice that Frank behaves strangely. A number of murders occur in the area and Kenji begins to wonder if Frank is responsible.

Another disturbing book, this one told from Kenji’s point of view. Yet again the descriptions and storyline are chilling, the ending even more so.

Coin Locker Babies

This is the first of Ryu Murakami’s books that I ever read. I found it fairly different compared to the two previously described.

Coin Locker Babies is the story of Kiku and Hashi, two boys that had been left, as babies, to die in the coin lockers at a train station. Luckily they were discovered and taken to an orphanage, from which they were then adopted. At sixteen, the pair find themselves in a part of Tokyo’s underbelly known as Toxitown. Bisexual Hashi becomes a rockstar whilst Kiku becomes a pole vaulter. Whilst Kiku and his girlfriend Anemone search for a substance known as Datura, Hashi and his manager D seek out Hashi’s new mother--and discover Kiku’s in the process.  

This book has a far more convoluted storyline and is somewhat longer, but is still a good read. It is filled with tragedy and taboo, and you’ll still be thinking about it long after you’ve put the book down.

A few years ago a film adaptation of this book appeared on IMDB, but has since disappeared, so I can only assume the project was scrapped!

If you only read one of these books, read: In the Miso Soup. It’s probably a good place to start and has a simpler storyline.

Geisha: the Real Memoirs

Ready for more books?

To break away from my usual habit of writing solely about one author, this post focuses on one topic: geisha.

Everybody has heard about Memoirs of a Geisha, right? Whether it’s the book, the film, or both, it’s a work that had a pretty high profile!

Well, I’m not writing about that one. Instead, this post focuses on these:

Geisha of Gion – Mineko Iwasaki

This is the real memoirs of a geisha. I read Geisha of Gion some time after reading Memoirs of a Geisha and found the storylines of the two books were incredibly similar (with the latter being somewhat more dramatic). Then I found out why: Memoirs was inspired by Mineko Iwasaki’s life.

The book follows Iwasaki’s story, from the time she is taken as a young girl to be tutored as a maiko (apprentice geisha) into her life as a geiko (geisha). (Apologies if I make any mistakes in the terminology; I’m writing this based on memory of a book I read a couple of years ago!)

As with any life story, there is drama and action, but explains a lot of things slightly misinterpreted in Arthur Golden’s fictitious tale. Between the two, I prefer this one, simply because it’s autobiographical and more realistic.

Geisha – Liza Dalby

When I saw this book for the first time, I was a little cynical as to whether it could accurately portray the training, work and lifestyle of geisha. I thought it would be a typical case of Foreigner Goes To Japan And Makes Lots of Misconceptions Based On What They See.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Geisha is the product of the author’s study into the Geisha lifestyle--a study so deep that she travelled to Japan to train as a geisha herself. The book covers the history of geisha and looks at how they have changed over time.

Whilst a little academic in places (it was written for a thesis, if I recall correctly!) it presents the facts in an interesting and respectful manner.

For me, the respect towards this part of Japanese culture was as equally important as the information presented.

If you only read one of these books, read: Both books have their merits. If you’re interested in the history of geisha and like factual books, check out Liza Dalby’s book. If you prefer your facts to be in the form of autobiography, try Mineko Iwasaki.

C.J. Sansom

Since I was a child, I’ve been interested in the Tudor period. This can be partly attributed to learning about the Tudors in primary school, but mostly thanks to Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories: The Terrible Tudors.

So when I found the Matthew Shardlake books by author C.J. Sansom, I was dead pleased!

To my knowledge there are five books in the series:

1. Dissolution

2. Dark Fire

3. Sovereign

4. Revelation

5. Heartstone

The hero of these historical detective stories is Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer practising from Lincoln’s Inn, London. The books are set in Tudor England, during the reign of the infamous Henry VIII, beginning with the dissolution of the monasteries and continuing through to the sinking of the Mary Rose. Each tale is filled with mystery and drama along with an insight into the life of the era. 

When I first started reading these stories, I disliked the fact that the author had made Shardlake a hunchback, as it seemed like he was trying too hard to make an unusual character.

But I stuck at it, because I liked how the story was written.

As the story progressed, I realised what a clever idea it was to give the main character an obvious deformity.

Shardlake isn’t young, nor immensely handsome, and whilst the state of his finances is comfortable he’s hardly rolling in money; nor is he a man of title.

What Shardlake is, however, is incredibly clever--a Tudor era Poirot or Sherlock Holmes.

Each of these books has a little map at the front, to depict the area in which the story is set. I think this is rather cool :)

Dissolution

The first of the Shardlake books is set during the Dissolution of the monasteries. Working under Cromwell, Shardlake and his assistant Mark Poer are dispatched to Scarnsea, Sussex, to investigate the strange murder of a royal commissioner.

As Shardlake and Poer investigate, two more murders come to light, along with evidence of treason and corruption. Little by little, they come closer to the truth--and the murderer. 

An interesting story that sheds light on the Dissolution. I’m a little biased in the favour of this book as it’s set in my county :)

Dark Fire

This second book is set in 1540, three years after Dissolution. Shardlake is once again on a case, this time of a girl charged with murder. Just as it seems he’ll lose the case, Cromwell steps in and offers him a deal: the proceedings against the girl will be delayed by two weeks if Shardlake will do some work for Cromwell. His task is to find the Dark Fire, a liquid with the power to catch fire and burn with epically destructive results. Following Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves, Cromwell is in poor favour with the king and looking to Shardlake to provide the means for him to get back into Henry’s good books.

Once again Shardlake is sent headlong into danger and intrigue, this time on the trail with one of Cromwell’s men, Jack Barak.

This tale truly strikes home the corruption within the royal court. Ulterior motives, treachery--people will stop at nothing to see the intentions realised.

Sovereign

In this book, Shardlake and Barak have been sent north into York. Following a conspiracy against the king, Henry VIII is has set off on a great ‘progress’ in attempt to squash any chance of rebellion. With him is Catherine Howard, his fifth wife, select nobles, and thousands of soldiers. Working with aged local lawyer Giles Wrenne, Shardlake is processing petitions to the king, which will be ceremoniously handed to Henry VIII on his arrival in York.

But there’s a second reason for Shardlake’s presence in York: he has been charged to protect a dangerous conspirator, imprisoned in York to be transported to London. Shardlake must ensure the prisoner’s wellbeing so the man can be interrogated in the Tower, something that gives him a little crisis of conscience.

The plot deepens when a local glazier is murdered, and Shardlake discovers a box of secret papers, some of which threaten Henry’s claim to the throne. This discovery thrusts Shardlake even further into danger and with unknown enemies working against him, the threat of being thrown into the tower himself becomes all the more real.

For most of the second part of this book, I was torn between two possible ‘baddies’ behind the main plot, but didn’t completely figure it out until the truth was revealed.

Revelation

It’s 1543. England is in the midst of religious unrest, with an impending mass-burning of all those considered ‘heretical’.

Shardlake has a new mystery to solve: that of a religious teenage boy, held in the Bedlam for his own safety. The boy has been imprisoned for religious mania, spouting out heretical and treasonous words that could lead to his execution.

Meanwhile, one of Shardlake’s oldest friends is brutally murdered. Shardlake promises the man’s widow that he’ll find the murderer and bring them to justice. As he investigates, he discovers other murders have taken place--gruesome interpretations of the book of Revelation. Throughout the investigation, the serial killer is always one step ahead of Shardlake, with his victims already planned...and one of them could be Shardlake himself.

This was a fantastic book! I usually struggle a little with works involving religion, but this was so full of intrigue that I couldn’t put it down.

Heartstone

It’s 1545 and Henry VIII’s warships are gathering at Portsmouth, to be joined by a huge army conscripted from the people of England. Henry VIII’s invasion of France has been unsuccessful, and now a fleet of French ships is due to leave for the English coast.

Shardlake has been given a case from a servant of Catherine Parr: to investigate alleged wrongdoings against a ward of the court, Hugh Curtey. At the same time, Shardlake becomes interested in another matter: the mystery surrounding Ellen Fettiplace, a woman in the Bedlam, whose past is full of secrets.

Whilst investigating the matter of Hugh Curtey, Shardlake takes it upon himself to also look into Ellen Fettiplace’s past, wanting to answer the question of how she ended up in the Bedlam.

Shardlake and Barak’s investigations take them into Portsmouth, where they find themselves at the very heart of the war preparations, and once more thrown into danger.

Another gripping, page-turner of a novel. Even knowing how some parts of the story (historical fact) were going to turn out didn’t ruin it. The tale isn’t without its surprises, either!

If you only read one of these books, read: Revelation.

Elizabeth Kostova

When I originally decided to write about books here alongside crafting, I’d intended to steer clear of international bestselling authors. I wanted to write about awesome books that people might not have heard about.

But sometimes there are books that just have to be shared with others, even if they are international bestsellers.

So this post is dedicated to two works by Elizabeth Kostova.

The Historian

I have written about The Historian before (in my Halloween-o-rama, last year) but here I am writing about it again!

I only happened upon this book by chance and nearly put it back on the shelf, until I noticed one of the reviews mentioned Dracula. I’m a fan of vampire fiction, particularly the stuff that involves some history, so I snapped it up!

The story has multiple narratives - that of Paul, his tutor Batholomew Rossi, and Paul’s sixteen year old daughter - but is written in such a way that it doesn’t become confusing. They search for Dracula’s resting place...Meanwhile, Dracula is searching for a librarian.

Mystery surrounds the characters of the books--what happened to Paul’s wife, the secret behind the strange book marked with a dragon that appeared on Rossi’s shelf, and then the next that appeared for Paul...mystery and history come together to take the characters on a journey from America into Europe, through England and France, into Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria, countries traditionally at the very heart of Dracula’s history.

This book is a total dream.

It lacks the vampire-and-human romantic sub-plot often found in vampire fiction, instead we are presented with a marvellously descriptive tale packed with history and character. Just like a vampire, this story draws you in and before you know it, you would be captivated. Putting this book down is incredibly hard to do!

The Swan Thieves

There are three similarities with this book and The Historian: the author, the multiple narratives, and mystery. Other than that, this is completely different to The Historian.

The Swan Thieves is about a psychiatrist named Andrew Marlowe, and his new patient, Robert Oliver, an artist recently arrested for attacking a painting in the National Gallery of Art. Robert Oliver refuses to speak of what drove him to the attack, which leads Andrew to speak to those closest to Robert Oliver. Through doing so, he discovers Robert’s past, his passions, and slowly unravels the mystery surrounding a young woman in the time of the French Impressionists.

Once again the tale takes us on an international journey, its multiple narratives set in America, France and more.

Kostova’s style of writing tends very much towards the intellectual and descriptive rather than drama and action, which leads to a very fulfilling and inspiring read.

If you only read one of these books, read: The Historian if you’re into vampires, The Swan Thieves if you’re into art and psychology. Either if you enjoy mystery.

Maxence Fermine: Colours Trilogy

I’m going to start writing about something new on this blog: books!

Since childhood I’ve been an avid reader. There’s something great about picking up a book and getting lost in the storyline.

So I’d like to share some of my favourites with you.

I’ll try to write briefly about several works of an author in each post and hope that somebody will find something new and fun to read!

To begin, here is a little about the writing of Maxence Fermine.

L-R: The Beekeper, Snow, The Black Violin

These three books are Maxence Fermine’s colours trilogy. Originally written in French, they are published in English by Acorn Books.

Snow

This is the first of Fermine’s books that I read! I wouldn’t have picked it up, only the kanji on the cover interested me and then I was intrigued by the blurb.

Set in Japan in the late 19th century, it is the story of Yuko Akita, a young man reaching the time in his life where he must choose his vocation. His choice is to become a monk or a warrior--but Yuko wishes to be a poet.

But Yuko’s only ever writes haiku about snow (the book itself contains haiku). Yuko is sent to study with an old poet named Soseki.

After a difficult journey to where Soseki lives, Yuko discovers that the poet is blind, and finds out about the young Soseki: that he was in love, with a tightrope walker named Snow.  

This book reads beautifully, capturing the essence and simplicity of haiku within the prose. At 100 pages long, it’s one of those brief, literary treasures that pops up only once in a while but leaves a definite mark in the reader’s memory.

The Black Violin

Another beautifully-written story with a romantic vein, this story is based around music (as you might have guessed!)

This time around, the tale is set in Italy in 1797. Reaching Venice with Napoleon’s army, violinist Johannes ends up boarding with Erasmus, an elderly violin-maker. One night, Erasmus tells Johannes of his life, and of ‘the Black Violin’. But Johannes becomes obsessed with the violin, and with finding the mysterious woman who saved his life when he was injured in battle.

Once more this is a short book, but that doesn’t at all detract from the storyline.

The Beekeeper

Beginning in France, 1885, The Beekeeper follows the journey of a young man named Aurelien. At twenty, Aurelien has decided to buy some hives and become a beekeeper, so that he could make honey. He would then be the only beekeeper in Langlade, and sell the best honey on Provence.

But as his aspirations begin to come to fruition, tragedy strikes. Following a dream, Aurelien sets off on a journey towards Africa, a journey upon which he meets a number of interesting people, including a woman with ‘skin the colour of honey.’

For this book, I’d like to share the first line, as I love it:

“Aurelien Rochefer was born in a painting of sun and light. A painting called Provence.”

This is the final book in the colours trilogy and also the longest, but it wraps the trilogy up nicely.

These three books are lovely reads and having been translated from the original French hasn’t taken away from their beauty.

If you only read one of these books, read: Snow. Of the three, I found it the most captivating.

Halloween-o-rama (part 4)

Unfortunately Oh’s Halloween-o-rama ends today with an entry on books!

Originally I’d hoped to put books and comics/graphic novels into the same category, but ended up wanting to write about far too many!

If you missed the previous parts, find them here:

• Part one (music)
• Part two (film)
• Part three (comics)

To start off, here is a book I read recently:

Wormwood by G.P. Taylor.

This book is meant to be a Young Adult book, but I believe books can be enjoyed at any age!

Set in London in the middle of the 18th Century, this book begins with Dr Sabian Blake, a master of the Cabala, astronomer and scientist, researching based on an invaluable book containing the secrets of the universe. Deciphering a note in the margin is his only hope of saving London from a deadly fate. But other, more unscrupulous people are in want of the book, too.

In this book we follow Blake, his maid Agetta, an angel named Tegatus and more in a race against time, fate, and evil...

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova follows three timelines - that of a father, his tutor, and his daughter - in the search for Dracula’s final resting place. The storyline takes us on a journey from America and across Europe, passing through England, France, Turkey and Romania, among others.

This is an excellent book filled with mystery; whilst the outcome of two of the timelines is obvious from the narration, the climax of the novel is kept tightly under wraps until the end--and even the end comes with an unexpected twist.

If you only read one book this Halloween, make it this one.

A Zombie Ate my Cupcake by Lily Vanilli is a cupcake cookbook with some fantastic ideas on decorating your cupcakes with a Halloween theme. It also includes recipes for making the cupcakes themselves.

Puppet Master is a young adult novel by Joanne Owen. Set in Czechoslovakia in the nineteenth century, Puppet Master is a fairytale-style gothic story that follows a girl named Milena. Her parents once ran Prague’s best puppet theatre, until her mother disappeared and her father died under suspicious circumstances. A travelling puppet theatre comes to town, run by the Puppet Master, a frightening man who seems to control people as well as he controls his puppets. The Puppet Master plans to take over the city, and only Milena - with the help of her magical aunts - can stop them.

Mr Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange sets itself up as a sequel to the classic Pride and Prejudice.

As Darcy and Elizabeth tour Europe on their honeymoon, the secrets of Darcy’s family curse are slowly revealed.

If you like your vampires to be romantic vampires, this is the book for you!

I was given this book for Christmas a couple of years ago (along with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and whilst it was a little cliché and predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite is another vampire story. With this tale, Brite breaks a number of taboos - underage pregnancy, drug abuse, incest, homosexuality, violence and more - and wraps it up in a neat little package with daredevil vampires and a little North Carolinian band, ‘Lost Souls?’

The story begins with four storylines that swiftly roll into one: that of three-hundred-year-old barkeep vampire Christian, adopted outcast Nothing, renegade vampires Zillah, Twig and Molochai (old by human terms, young by vampire) and that of Steve and his psychic friend Ghost, who make up the aforementioned band.

All characters gravitate towards Steve and Ghost’s hometown of Missing Mile, NC, the vampires picking up Nothing on the way (and discovering a few things about him). Steve’s ex-girlfriend Ann becomes enamoured - and impregnated - by Zillah, and when the vampires skip town, follows them to New Orleans where the story reaches its climax.

This is a seriously gritty, gripping novel; due to its content I wouldn’t say it was everybody’s cup of tea. I’m well aware that it contains situations that would make some people uncomfortable!

But I’m putting it here because a book that journeyed half-way around the world so I could read it (a New Zealander friend sent it to me) deserves some notice! Kudos to the author for putting so much tough stuff into one novel and making it work.

These final two books are by authors much more well-known, but still heartily recommended!

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett is part of the Discworld series of books but as with all of them is suitable to read as a standalone novel. It focuses on the character Death (an anthropomorphic personification. After the Auditors - beings responsible for making sure everything in the Discworld follows The Rules - decide that Death is forming too much of a personality, they send him to live with everyone else. He assumes a name and starts working on a farm. Consequently, all species create their own, new Death. Except for the humans, who take some time to create their new Death. The lack of a human Death leads to a rise in paranormal activity, with characters such as the wizard Windle Poons finding themselves returning, undead, to the Disc.

When the New Death is created - a being with no humanity and no human face -  it goes to claim the old Death.

Death has to outwit the New Death, tidy up, and face Azrael, the Death of the Universe.

This is the 11th book in the Discworld series and the second with a story focused around Death. Unlike the foreboding character usually expected in stories of Death, Terry Pratchett’s creation is comical--as is the book.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (yep, him again) is the last book I’ll write about today. Though it’s a children’s novel, it’s equally enjoyable as an adult! The Graveyard Book is the story of Nobody Owens (‘Bod’). As a toddler, Bod’s parents are murdered by ‘the man Jack’. Bod finds his way to a graveyard where he is adopted and named by the ghosts of Mr and Mrs Owens. Bod is granted the freedom of the graveyard, and the somewhat mysterious Silas takes on the task of providing for him.

The story revolves around the adventures Bod has in the graveyard, though danger lurks close by in the form of Jack, who is set on finishing the job he started.

Well, that brings us to the end of my little series of Halloween-themed entertainment ramblings!

If this wasn’t enough, then I have one final recommendation for you!

Horror Shock Lolipop is a blog run by a group of Horror fans. Interesting and informative, here you will find all things scary and cute, weird and wonderful, and of course, a good deal of Halloween and Horror.

Enough of my recommendations, now I’d like to hear from you!

Do any of you like to read horror or fantasy books?  Which books did you enjoy reading the most?