Tag Archives: Henry James

Re-reads ahead. Because films on the way.

Posted by Kate W in Book vs Film and tagged with , , ,

Given the number of books I haven’t read at all, it sometimes seems a bit mad re-reading particular books. But it is nice to revisit old favourites. And I always like to re-read a book if a movie version is on the way, particularly if the movie is based on a book by one of my favourite authors.

Which is why I’ll have to get my skates on for What Maisie Knew, due for release in the US this month. The movie, starring Julianne Moore, is a modern re-telling of the Henry James classic.

Also on the horizon is Tiger Eyes, based on the book by Judy Blume. Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I’m Thankful For

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

This is it folks – the only time you’re likely to see Henry James and Judith Krantz mentioned in the same list.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new ‘top ten’ challenge is posted – anyone can join in. This week’s topic is Top Ten (or in my case, eight) Authors I’m Thankful For.

1. John Irving – master story-teller and the creator of the most memorable characters.

2. Judy Blume – for everything.

3. E. L. James – for providing my girlfriends and I with SO MANY laughs whilst reading aloud. For the record, reading FSoG in a monotone has become my girls-weekend-away-party-trick.

4. Charlotte Wood – not only a beautiful writer but an awesome recommender of books. Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Get in the Halloween Spirit

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

At the risk of being black-listed by The Broke and the Bookish crowd, I’m admitting that I have no real interest in books about vampires. Or witches. Or anything para-normal. Yes, I did read the Twilight series (because I like a book with hype) and I did enjoy it but it hasn’t gone further than that. So I’m likely to fail miserably at this week’s top ten topic –  Top Ten Books to Get in the Halloween Spirit.

So whilst there’s nothing terribly ghoulish or fitting for Halloween on my list, here’s the ten books that scared the pants off me (for all sorts of reasons) – Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday – Don’t Forget About Me!

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new ‘top ten’ challenge is posted – anyone can join in.

This week’s topic is ‘Top Ten ‘Older’ Books You Don’t Want People To Forget About’. It’s a terrific topic because so often we’re attracted to the latest, shiniest new release, while some ace books gather dust on the shelves (or worse still, go out of print).

I’ve picked ten books that I remember really enjoying when I was reading them – you know the kind of book you don’t want to end? They may not necessarily finish on your ‘favourite books of all time’ list but they have the perfect combination of memorable characters and a gripping plot. In no particular order, here’s my top ten –

1. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers – exactly as the title suggests. Continue reading →

A bad run…

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , ,

My Twitter hash tag to accompany #reading of late has been #4shitbooksandcounting – seriously, is my bad book run penance for the glorious Baxter, Tiffany and Hartnet weeks?!

One of my Twitter pals wisely suggested re-reading some old favourites to break the spell – good idea. I may have to turn to some character-rich Henry James or some sentimental John Irving to get back on track.

At the risk of a new hash tag, #5shitbooksandcounting, I’m going to quickly read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to see what all the fuss is about. If that’s not reasonable, it will be ‘Hello Irving and James’!

What do you do when you have a bad run of books?

PS. The picture above is of a sculpture made from 25,000 Dr. Seuss Books for the New York Public Library – I love it.