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Sundae · 12-09-2008, 08:52 AM

The Grin of the Dark was very good.
No big explanation/ confrontation/ denouement at the end, but hey - that's why he hasn't been press-ganged by Hollywood.

Since then read The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson.
She's not an author that has aged very well for me.
Explanation - I adored Which Witch - which was on my sister's reading list when she was ten, and I listened to Mum read it every night (then snuck the book and read ahead). I can still read WW today (I have a copy) and get the same satisfaction from it. But when I read a new book of her's, it doesn't have the same appeal. They are still medal winners, but miss the mark for me. Same as Journey to the River Sea - it interested me, but I really needed more... magic, frankly. That's why I still read children's books (that and I want to write one, one day, yawn, yawn, yawn like everyone else who works in an office). I knew her first as a fantasy author.

Diana Wynne Jones however, can still engage me in her stories. Perhaps because when I first read some of them, they left me exhilarated but slightly baffled, like someone falling into a bear-trap, because they were above my reading age. Even now I am amazed at the complexity of some of the books I simply swallowed whole. Sheri S Tepper can do that to me now in an adult was, but I rarely fnid her books.

Also read an Anthony Horowitz book for the first time. Raven's Gate (The Gatekeepers). Simplistic - probably written for boys rather than girls, but an interesting premise. Fantasy and magic warefare don't need to be set in Olde Englande - they can be right here right now with fish & chip shops and takeaway Chinese. Completely British (this first one was anyway) but good fun. Reasonably densely plotted without too much lyricism. A great book for a boy who doesn't really read - esp because England will already seem like a far off land to a Merkin child.

Just started Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki. Interesting to hear the truth after reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but hardly a challenging read. No dedicated charity bookshops in Aylesbury either I'm afraid. I get what I can.

12-09-2008, 08:52 AM	#1291
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	The Grin of the Dark was very good. No big explanation/ confrontation/ denouement at the end, but hey - that's why he hasn't been press-ganged by Hollywood. Since then read The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson. She's not an author that has aged very well for me. Explanation - I adored Which Witch - which was on my sister's reading list when she was ten, and I listened to Mum read it every night (then snuck the book and read ahead). I can still read WW today (I have a copy) and get the same satisfaction from it. But when I read a new book of her's, it doesn't have the same appeal. They are still medal winners, but miss the mark for me. Same as Journey to the River Sea - it interested me, but I really needed more... magic, frankly. That's why I still read children's books (that and I want to write one, one day, yawn, yawn, yawn like everyone else who works in an office). I knew her first as a fantasy author. Diana Wynne Jones however, can still engage me in her stories. Perhaps because when I first read some of them, they left me exhilarated but slightly baffled, like someone falling into a bear-trap, because they were above my reading age. Even now I am amazed at the complexity of some of the books I simply swallowed whole. Sheri S Tepper can do that to me now in an adult was, but I rarely fnid her books. Also read an Anthony Horowitz book for the first time. Raven's Gate (The Gatekeepers). Simplistic - probably written for boys rather than girls, but an interesting premise. Fantasy and magic warefare don't need to be set in Olde Englande - they can be right here right now with fish & chip shops and takeaway Chinese. Completely British (this first one was anyway) but good fun. Reasonably densely plotted without too much lyricism. A great book for a boy who doesn't really read - esp because England will already seem like a far off land to a Merkin child. Just started Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki. Interesting to hear the truth after reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but hardly a challenging read. No dedicated charity bookshops in Aylesbury either I'm afraid. I get what I can.