All Consuming : Kiwiria

The real "Memoirs of a Geisha"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Kiwiria) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:18:09 GMT

by Mineko Iwasaki

Ever since I read “Memoirs of a Geisha” I’ve wanted to read this one, as Arthur Golden mentions the author of this book as being one of his inspirations. So when I managed to find it in a bookshop, I immediately bought it. It did not disappoint. Where MoaG takes place around World War 2, this one describes the life of a Geisha in the 60s and 70s. You get to read about how Mineko meets Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth and several other celebrities that we ‘know’. Fascinating book.

The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over the La*y Dog (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Kiwiria) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:16:04 GMT

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

by Mark Dunn

Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel.

This book is absolutely hilarious, reading how Ella slowly learns to substitute words as more and more letters are banned. ‘Day’ becomes ‘sun-to-sun’ when ‘d’ disappears and then ‘night-to-night’ when ‘u’ disappears. Lovely book and a quick read. I read it in one sitting – didn’t take more than an hour or two.

A classic (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Kiwiria) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:14:25 GMT

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

Though I’ve read many adaptions of this story (among others a Disney version with Scrooge and Donald Duck in the main roles – obviously ;) ) I’d never actually read the original, so in December I felt it was time. It’s pretty good, but I wasn’t as impressed by it, as I’d expected to be. Perhaps this is because I listened to it as an audiobook instead of reading it myself. It’s worth a read, but won’t make it to my list of favourites.

A review of "Just Listen"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Kiwiria) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:13:01 GMT

Just Listen

by Sarah Dessen

Good quality teen fiction is hard to find these days. With the notable exceptions of Stephanie Meyer and Tamora Pierce most YA writers tend to ‘talk down’ to their readers, and their books read more like the script to movies like “Clueless” (am in no way mocking that movie – I love it – but it doesn’t mean it makes for a good book) than to fiction worth reading.

“Just Listen” is a delightful change to this ‘norm’. It was well written, well thought out and not just concerned about “who’s in love with whom”. Though I’m probably somewhat older than the target audience, I really enjoyed it. The characters were three-dimensional and you got to know and care about them. This is the first Sarah Dessen book I’ve read, but I’ll be sure to check out more of her books after this.

Quite unlikely, but pretty good (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Kiwiria) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:11:35 GMT

Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot)

by Agatha Christie