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Review Date: 5/8/2012
This book is heavier on plot and lighter on simile than most of the Wodehouse books I've read. It's still highly amusing. Sally's fortunes take a roller-coaster ride, and she has three suitors to deal with, becoming engaged to each at some point. Much of the action involves the production of a Broadway play, which Wodehouse knew well. My husband and I particularly got a chuckle from the line:
"One of the chief articles of faith in the creed of all theatrical producers is that if anything goes wrong it must be the fault of the assistant stage manager." (He's frequently the assistant stage manager for a local G&S company.)
"One of the chief articles of faith in the creed of all theatrical producers is that if anything goes wrong it must be the fault of the assistant stage manager." (He's frequently the assistant stage manager for a local G&S company.)
Review Date: 7/11/2013
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very enjoyable, light-hearted book. If you like Christopher Buckley's novels, you'll probably like this, too.
Review Date: 9/2/2014
Helpful Score: 1
According to the blurbs, other folks find this hilarious. I didn't, although admittedly I only sampled a few of the pieces. Maybe I don't have a sufficiently British sense of humor.
Review Date: 6/5/2011
The blurb for this book came straight from Amazon, but is not correct. The updated version with the "Cat-Who Quotables" actually has ISBN 0425174255, and the description of that ISBN actually belongs with this one. The pictures are correct; just the descriptions are switched. In any event, these are useful aids to the "Cat-Who" fans who want to refresh their memories of, say, a character's background without re-reading the whole series.
Review Date: 8/13/2017
Usually, when I'm reading a mystery by Robert Barnard, I find myself reading a lot of clever bits out loud to my husband. This book is not like that. And since it involves an author working on a novelization of her memories, there is a lot of jumping back and forth in time -- which I find annoying. On the plus side, it is not excessively gory, as some of Barnard's works are. So, a middling sort of book. (I rated it at two-and-a-half stars to try to indicate that, while I didn't actually dislike it, I didn't particularly like it, either.)
Review Date: 8/23/2014
Hooray! A mystery where the female protagonist is actually a policewoman herself, rather than the typical nosy gal without a grain of sense who relies on her policeman boyfriend to rescue her when she gets in over her head. (And it's a good thing Trudy doesn't need rescuing, since her boyfriend is inclined to stand around making jokes about creepy-crawlies while she investigates the crawl space under a house.) Lots of suspects, lots of small-town Southern atmosphere, and pretty much free of typos, although I did notice one editing lapse. A pleasant read.
Review Date: 9/20/2015
I liked the first Michael Innes book I read ("Hamlet, Revenge!") very much and have read a number of others since. There have been some I have liked nearly as much, but this was not one of them. The events surrounding the murder are too convoluted and preposterous for my taste. I didn't even find any passages that I liked enough that I wanted to read them to my husband. On the other hand, it has an easier vocabulary and fewer quotations than many Innes mysteries. This is the first appearance of John Appleby, star of many of the later works. Some American editions use the title "Seven Suspects".
Review Date: 10/17/2009
Helpful Score: 1
I do not recommend this book for Jane Austen fans; it is in an entirely different style, although it makes use of some of the characters from "Sense and Sensibility". It seems to be more of an anti-Austen book: no one gets married, the war with France is frequently mentioned, nearly everyone of any significance dies, and the Austen characters have almost all suffered dismal fates. There is considerable emphasis on the sorry lot of women at the time, as well as some excursions into parapsychology (auras and fortune telling). The whole thing is told in memoir mode, by an unreliable narrator. I was very disappointed in this book; I had previously read "Jane Fairfax", by the same author, and it was very good. Perhaps the difference is that this book occurs after the end of Austen's story, so the author had to invent everything, while "Jane Fairfax" occurs simultaneously with "Emma".
The dust jacket summary was clearly not written by someone who had read the book; it overstates the relationship with the Austen characters and gets the sequence of events wrong.
The dust jacket summary was clearly not written by someone who had read the book; it overstates the relationship with the Austen characters and gets the sequence of events wrong.
Review Date: 8/19/2010
Although the book is set in an alternate reality and the protagonist is a time-traveler, this is not really a traditional science fiction book. It is more of interest to the avid reader of classics and has such clever names that there is a Wikipedia article explaining them. It is the first in a series, and you definitely want to read the series in order. The author has an extensive and amusing website, which includes "upgrades" for the books (corrections of typos, mostly).
Review Date: 4/16/2012
This is an entertaining collection of short tales by E. Nesbit, many involving some rather untraditional royalty -- answering job advertisements, developing subdivisions, even becoming elevator operators if need be. As always, the narration is a joy; in some cases there are some thin spots in the logic, so don't look too hard. Naomi Lewis has written introductions to each story, as well as the foreword. However, you might want to wait until after reading the story to read her introduction, as sometimes there are "spoilers". The stories included are: "Billy the King", "The Charmed Life or the Princess and the Lift-man", "Melisande or Long and Short Division", "The Town in the Library in the Town in the Library", "Belinda and Bellamont or the Bells of Carillon-Land", "The White Horse", and "Fortunatus Rex & Co. or the Mystery of the Disappearing Schoolgirls". (I never knew precisely what was meant by a "charmed life" until I read this book!)
Review Date: 8/16/2012
As you can tell from the publisher's blurb, this is a paranormal steampunk romance. So, it's a light read -- what I call a "catch-and-release" book, especially good to take along when travelling, so you can leave it behind wherever you are when you finish. I was particularly interested in it because my own background is in science and technology, which are not interests of the typical romance heroine. Alice is, alas, the traditional beautiful blonde; but then, it is important to the plot that everyone wants to marry her, whether they approve of her interests or not. I do appreciate the emphasis on romance, rather than sex. The behavior is, in general, decorous -- only slightly racier than Jane Austen.
I found it to be a pleasant story, with commendably few errors introduced by the spell-checker. I had been a bit worried about how the paranormal aspects would be handled, but I thought that was well done, and very little "willing suspension of disbelief" was needed, whether for that or the steampunk elements. I do draw the line, though, at a "stereoscopic monocle", however much my husband might like to have one. And no matter how unconventional or distracted the heroine, I cannot imagine a woman of that era never questioning whether it would be proper for her to go on a tour with an unmarried man. I think it would have been better to have addressed that question when the tour was first suggested, rather than leaving it as a last-minute afterthought. I can't see that it would make any difference to the plot. And Dr. Smith should surely not have left the two of them alone overnight in New York.
This book ends with Alice's engagement to her "Mr. Right", but the title hints that there may be more adventures to follow. I expect they will be fun to read, too. I had been hoping to hear more about Ian's uncle.
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program.
I found it to be a pleasant story, with commendably few errors introduced by the spell-checker. I had been a bit worried about how the paranormal aspects would be handled, but I thought that was well done, and very little "willing suspension of disbelief" was needed, whether for that or the steampunk elements. I do draw the line, though, at a "stereoscopic monocle", however much my husband might like to have one. And no matter how unconventional or distracted the heroine, I cannot imagine a woman of that era never questioning whether it would be proper for her to go on a tour with an unmarried man. I think it would have been better to have addressed that question when the tour was first suggested, rather than leaving it as a last-minute afterthought. I can't see that it would make any difference to the plot. And Dr. Smith should surely not have left the two of them alone overnight in New York.
This book ends with Alice's engagement to her "Mr. Right", but the title hints that there may be more adventures to follow. I expect they will be fun to read, too. I had been hoping to hear more about Ian's uncle.
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Review Date: 1/30/2010
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of the better Austen spin-offs that I've read. It does pull in characters
from all the novels, and assumes that you know their backstories, so you'll be totally
lost if all you know is "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility". The
characters' behavior is generally consistent with what we already knew of them, and
various incidents from the novels are echoed in this one. We get at least a little
of all the heroines, plus everyone's favorite villainess, Lucy Steele.
The story follows Georgiana Darcy, who naturally ends up married, and there are
three other couples paired up along the way, after varying degrees of difficulty.
I found the lack of proof-reading in this book distracting. It's a reprint of the
1913 first edition, so I'm not sure if the problems were introduced then or now. It's
not a matter of typos, such as you get with books that have been scanned, but whole
words missing or repeated or mistaken. Some examples: "Mrs. Garret" where "Mrs. Grant"
is meant. "I ... have come to the conclusion that it would not be bad at all a bad
thing." "...he would believe that she did not care for him and did not want to care.
What a wonder if his feelings towards her underwent a change!" (Here what is meant is
exactly the opposite; it would be a wonder if his feelings didn't change.)
from all the novels, and assumes that you know their backstories, so you'll be totally
lost if all you know is "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility". The
characters' behavior is generally consistent with what we already knew of them, and
various incidents from the novels are echoed in this one. We get at least a little
of all the heroines, plus everyone's favorite villainess, Lucy Steele.
The story follows Georgiana Darcy, who naturally ends up married, and there are
three other couples paired up along the way, after varying degrees of difficulty.
I found the lack of proof-reading in this book distracting. It's a reprint of the
1913 first edition, so I'm not sure if the problems were introduced then or now. It's
not a matter of typos, such as you get with books that have been scanned, but whole
words missing or repeated or mistaken. Some examples: "Mrs. Garret" where "Mrs. Grant"
is meant. "I ... have come to the conclusion that it would not be bad at all a bad
thing." "...he would believe that she did not care for him and did not want to care.
What a wonder if his feelings towards her underwent a change!" (Here what is meant is
exactly the opposite; it would be a wonder if his feelings didn't change.)
Review Date: 7/11/2019
This is a sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin", which I had enjoyed very much, so I had expected to like this one, too. But it's not nearly as good. The beginning is badly in need of some editing and trimming down. Once the story gets going, it's reasonably entertaining. However, this is really Curdie's adventure. Little Princess Irene, who was so active in the prior tale, is little more than wallpaper in this one. And her great-great-grandmother appears at the beginning to set things in motion and at the end to make sure things come out right, but isn't seen in between.
Review Date: 2/11/2010
This book is the fourth of a series, but you don't have to have read the earlier ones
to understand this one.
There isn't really much mystery to it; you pretty much know the villains from the
start; so the interest is more in how Dodgson and Conan Doyle go about solving it
and the depiction of life in Victorian Oxford. The editing got a bit sloppy toward
the end, with big chunks of dialogue essentially repeated from prior chapters.
There weren't too many typos, though.
I was bothered somewhat by the continual references to "Doyle", knowing that all
Quiz Bowl contestants are trained to call him "Conan Doyle", but during the denouement,
he decides to follow the example of some of the Oxonians and use both names.
There is a nice little section of historical notes at the end, explaining which
characters were real and a little bit about them.
to understand this one.
There isn't really much mystery to it; you pretty much know the villains from the
start; so the interest is more in how Dodgson and Conan Doyle go about solving it
and the depiction of life in Victorian Oxford. The editing got a bit sloppy toward
the end, with big chunks of dialogue essentially repeated from prior chapters.
There weren't too many typos, though.
I was bothered somewhat by the continual references to "Doyle", knowing that all
Quiz Bowl contestants are trained to call him "Conan Doyle", but during the denouement,
he decides to follow the example of some of the Oxonians and use both names.
There is a nice little section of historical notes at the end, explaining which
characters were real and a little bit about them.
Review Date: 7/26/2012
Beware -- although Ballantine has titled this book "Something New", it is actually the English version normally titled "Something Fresh". The actual "Something New" has Americans as protagonists, as well as a number of other differences. Not that this isn't a very funny book; it is, but it's not the one that it claims to be.
Review Date: 1/5/2014
I would not call this a "riveting thriller" as the blurb on the cover did. It is a fairly slow-paced espionage/murder case. The "Holmes" tie-in is negligible. However, I see that a reviewer on Amazon thinks the main interest here is as a possible backstory for Nero Wolfe,
which does sound very plausible.
which does sound very plausible.
Review Date: 11/7/2012
Helpful Score: 1
This is an amusing little fantasy. The protagonist is an alien who has heard radio broadcasts from Earth, and is such a Philip Marlowe fan that he feels compelled to come visit the planet. The text becomes more and more Chandleresque as the book goes on. And for once, the cover illustrator seems to have actually read the book. All the characters shown figure in the plot and are portrayed as they are described in the book.
Review Date: 6/8/2017
Mrs. Meade was a very prolific author from the Victorian and Edwardian era. She wrote a large number of these moral tales for girls, and a lot of other things as well; similar to Louisa May Alcott.
The three (English) girls are: Priscilla, an intelligent and virtuous brunette; Mabel, an attractive, frivolous, and rich redhead; and Annie, a clever and devious blonde. Mabel and Annie seem to be orphans; Priscilla's father is still living, but is in India with a new wife and children and no money to spare for Priscy, so her care and upkeep have been delegated to her dead mother's rural relations. Annie is cared for by her Uncle Maurice, an elderly clergyman; and Mabel is under the protection of her Aunt Henrietta, a world-traveling socialite with a lot of good sense.
The three have been attending the same boarding school in England, and the story opens near the end of the school year when they are not quite seventeen. Priscilla's uncle has informed her that she has had schooling enough and should help out on the farm, or be apprenticed to a seamstress. She had hoped for at least another year at her current school, with the hope of earning a scholarship to continue her education after that. Meanwhile, Mabel is not much of a scholar, and would rather go traveling with her aunt, but her aunt says she must stay in school another year ... unless her essay wins the literature prize. Annie
devises a plan whereby Mabel can win the prize and Priscilla can get the money for another year of school, although it requires some unethical behavior. The plan is put into effect; but additional complications keep cropping up that require more and more finagling on Annie's part, and sometimes Mabel's too. Meanwhile, Priscilla's conscience is tormenting her, and the others fear that she will confess her misdeed. (Priscilla is not aware of all the auxiliary schemes that go on.)
I don't want to give the ending away; but I will say that it didn't go quite where I thought it was headed. Nevertheless, all three end up in more-or-less appropriate situations.
Provided you keep the era in mind, it is an enjoyable enough read.
The three (English) girls are: Priscilla, an intelligent and virtuous brunette; Mabel, an attractive, frivolous, and rich redhead; and Annie, a clever and devious blonde. Mabel and Annie seem to be orphans; Priscilla's father is still living, but is in India with a new wife and children and no money to spare for Priscy, so her care and upkeep have been delegated to her dead mother's rural relations. Annie is cared for by her Uncle Maurice, an elderly clergyman; and Mabel is under the protection of her Aunt Henrietta, a world-traveling socialite with a lot of good sense.
The three have been attending the same boarding school in England, and the story opens near the end of the school year when they are not quite seventeen. Priscilla's uncle has informed her that she has had schooling enough and should help out on the farm, or be apprenticed to a seamstress. She had hoped for at least another year at her current school, with the hope of earning a scholarship to continue her education after that. Meanwhile, Mabel is not much of a scholar, and would rather go traveling with her aunt, but her aunt says she must stay in school another year ... unless her essay wins the literature prize. Annie
devises a plan whereby Mabel can win the prize and Priscilla can get the money for another year of school, although it requires some unethical behavior. The plan is put into effect; but additional complications keep cropping up that require more and more finagling on Annie's part, and sometimes Mabel's too. Meanwhile, Priscilla's conscience is tormenting her, and the others fear that she will confess her misdeed. (Priscilla is not aware of all the auxiliary schemes that go on.)
I don't want to give the ending away; but I will say that it didn't go quite where I thought it was headed. Nevertheless, all three end up in more-or-less appropriate situations.
Provided you keep the era in mind, it is an enjoyable enough read.
Walking to Canterbury : A Modern Journey Through Chaucer's Medieval England
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
7
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
7
Review Date: 6/14/2019
The author is a part-Cherokee American who was following the route of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrims as a way of honoring his English ancestry. This book is a sort of sequel to one he had written after walking the Cherokee Trail of Tears to honor his Native American ancestry. His account of his experiences along the way are interspersed with accounts of what life was like for the earlier pilgrims. I found those mildly interesting. However, I was somewhat put off by his constant harping on how extraordinarily sensitive and spiritual he is.
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