Bootleg – Alex Shearer
06 Feb 2009 5 Comments
Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.
Bootleg was made into a successful three-part BBC TV drama that was shown in 2002.
The book in one sentence: Dictatorial political party the Good For You Party has banned chocolate and all things pleasurable from the country to help people lead healthier lives, but this ruling is not to taken meekly by Smudger and Huntly, who eventually became bootleggers for chocolate and had chocolate ‘eateasy’ parties!
Who would you recommend it to: Doubtless, chocolate lovers! Can you imagine a life without chocolate? No? Read this book then.
OK bits: Love the concept of the book.
Boring bits: Nothing particularly boring.
Verdict: This book is just like chocolate – guilty pleasure. It’s not a literary book but it sure is enjoyable, reading about people who love chocolate so much that they do whatever it takes to have them, even if it means breaking the law! The ending is a bit nonsensical to me, but it is a children’s book and so you should just let your imagination run free.
Bookish Christmas Wishes
06 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
in Children, Links, Lists, Memes, nylusmilk
This time, the FAIL blog got it kinda right about books (sorting)! (Previously they thought book rental stores are a stupid concept.)
That aside, so what books are you wishing for Christmas? And what books do you plan to give out for Christmas?
My List
Give
Any Roald Dahl bookGet
Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Any books by Edward Monkton
Quidditch Through the Ages – Kennilworthy Whisp (Trying to complete my Harry Potter collection, heh) Got it from warehouse sale, yay!
Penguin asked the same question to a group of authors recently. Here’s what they chose: More
Books That Define Your Childhood
26 Nov 2008 1 Comment
For some, it might be Dr Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. For others, it might be Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, or the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland.
As for me, my childhood was defined by Enid Blyton’s books. My parents used to buy me those hardback books of short stories, like A Hole in Her Pocket and Other Stories from garage sales. I even owned a tome consisting 5 stories from The Famous Five series. My favourite Enid Blyton books were the ones about The Faraway Tree, of course, as well as The Wishing Chair and Amelia Jane stories. There is one particular book I enjoyed reading, called The Three Brownies. I lost that book and till now I can never find this title at bookshops or even online. 
Enid Blyton books were my staple from when I was seven till about ten years old. During then, I also got hooked to a Singapore series called The Bookworm Gang. This was about as local a children’s series as I could get. I love the colourful characters who I could relate easier to than the Western counterparts written by Ms Blyton, terrific though they were. I wonder what happened to my collection of those books…
In my tween age, a friend introduced me to The Sweet Valley Twins and Friends, which I felt was the real catalyst to my reading habit, despite having devoured many Enid Blytons. Besides introducing me to Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, it was through my friend which I learn about the concept of book rental stores. It wasn’t long before I ventured into one of these places to borrow some books, and later on it became a weekly trip for me and my dad as he chatted up with the owner while I grab the latest titles.
At the book rental stores, I was exposed to Archie comics, R. L. Stine’s Fear Street and Goosebumps, Christopher Pike novels, Love Stories series… basically junk food for reading. But you know what? I believe they help teach me a lot about life, besides keeping me entertained on my own.
What books do you remember from your childhood? Do you still keep them? Do you read them again every now and then?
The Eyes of the Amaryllis – Natalie Babbitt
03 Oct 2008 Leave a Comment
The book in one sentence: Jenny Reade stays with her grandmother Geneva for a few weeks to care for her while her broken ankle heals, but Geneva has a different task in mind for Jenny to accomplish; something she has been waiting from the ocean.
Who would you recommend it to: A reader who’s looking for a quick, summer romance story without the mushy bits.
OK bits: I like the romance in the story; very old-fashioned and sweet.
Boring bits: Nothing particularly boring.
Random review quote:
“Indisputably one of our gifted writers… The Eyes of the Amaryllis is a ghost story concerned with real-life “things you can’t explain.” – Selma G. Lanes, The New York Times Book Review
Verdict: I thought the ending is a bit of a cop-out, at least where the grandmother was concerned, but overall I thought it’s a sweet, haunting story.
Bookworms Speak Up