Anne of Green Gables

This summer I watched “Anne With An E” on Netflix.  I loved it.  The setting was beautiful. I totally got Anne and I loved her ability to see the best in every situation.  I don’t understand why I’ve never read the book before.  I found the eBook on Amazon and downloaded it to my phone.  I haven’t had much time for reading this last year, but I’m almost at the end and am thoroughly enjoying it.  I will be looking out for all of the “Anne” books, as well as the rest of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s work.

My new book!

I'm very pleased to announce the arrival of my third book, Beausejour, available for Kindle on Amazon. I’m not putting a direct link for my book here as it won’t work in all countries. The best is to go to Amazon and search for my name, Angela Knutsen, in the Kindle Store.

If you’re interested you can visit my page at Author Central and order from there too.

Herbert George Wells

I’m reading ‘The Door in the Wall and other stories” at the moment. He really is a brilliant story teller and considering the book was written in 1911 had an almost prophetic view of the future.

Looking at his biography on Wikipedia is equally fascinating – He even predicted the second world war within a few months! When I was at school we read ‘The History of Mr. Polly’ which is completely different to the more scientific stories. I remember it as a really good read and will be looking it out to read again soon.

A first!

One of the books I’ve read recently was ‘The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman’ by Canadian author Denis Thériault. It’s a lovely story based around the art of writing Haiku. For the first time I really got the idea and now I understand how to write them. My daughter and a blogging friend have explained Haiku to me the past, but…

For about a week, when I’ve visited the town hall nearly every day to take the post to the post office, I’ve been treated to the pleasure of seeing the cherry tree in its autumn colours. How very Japanese to be inspired to write my first Haiku by a cherry tree. So here it is. I’m sure I’ve missed something, but it does have 17 syllables. It contains everything I wanted to say:

The Autumn tree 

Studies its reflection 

In a lake of fallen leaves 

 Now I want to read the book again – as it was written, in French.

 I can’t help wondering if some of the trees look down at the leaves beneath them and mutter “Wasn’t me”

A.H.W.O.S.G.

At the beginning of ‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius’ the Author Dave Eggars has added a section entitled ‘Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of this Book’. Rule 1 says ‘There is no overwhelming need to read the preface’. I took him at his word and didn’t bother to read the preface, it looked long and I don’t like long prefaces. I wanted to read the book.

I thought that I was reading a work of fiction – had I read the preface, I would have known that the book is autobiographical – give and take one or two changes. If I’d have known that it was a true story , I probably wouldn’t have finished it. I’m the mother of sons; the book hurts a lot. Dave has the job of bringing up his younger brother, Toph, almost on his own after both of their parents die of cancer. It’s brilliant and heartbreaking – I would love to meet this man and hug him.

Now I know about McSweeney’s

Special promotion, Angie Brynner & Company

I’m running special promotions for my book ‘Angie Brynner & Company’.

The UK promotion starts 12th April at 8 am GMT until 19th April at 12 am GMT ; the price will be reduced from £2.37 to 99p.

In the US, the book will be 99 cents from 12th April 8am PST until 19th April 12am PST, original price is $2.99.

To take advantage of the promotion if you don’t have a Kindle reader you can download a free app for your smartphone, tablet or computer.(App is free, not the book)  The link is just below the book cover on the page. Because Amazon doesn’t seem to cope well with links from country to country .The best way to find the book is to go to Amazon, look under Kindle and look for my name: Angela Knutsen.

How about a little extract...

...from my first book?  I've discovered that I can put a preview of my book here.!  Enjoy.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

For a long time now Dom has been telling me what a wonderful writer John Irving is. So for my birthday one of the books she gave to me was A Prayer for Owen Meany.

She’s right John Irving is a wonderful writer. Owen Meany is very small and has a strange voice which means when he speaks HE SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS! I have no problem imagining his voice because when the children were very small I used to be a child minder. I looked after a toddler who had the worse voice you can imagine. If a cheese grater could speak it would be with that voice.

Back to the book: There are quite a few Bible quotes and I’d forgotten how beautiful some of the Bible can be (King James version of course). There is quite a bit about Vietnam which I’m finding very useful as I remember that period but didn’t understand it all at the time. I haven’t finished it yet, but I have a feeling it will end in tears. Anyway, I recommend it if you haven’t read it.

The Time Traveler's Wife

I’m really enjoying this book. Dom acquired it while in Edinburgh and is letting me read it before she does. The condition was that I don’t talk to her about it.

 I’ve always been interested in time travel and this one is different to most books on the subject.

I looked at reviews of the film and it seems it could be very confusing to those who aren’t in the know. Has anyone seen it? What did you think?

Punch September 6th 1884

Looks as if people were suffering the effects of hot weather back in 1884… 

Mamma: “With this frightful hot weather, I think I must have that child’s hair cut!”

Tommy: “Oh yes Ma! – and look here – I should like to have it done by the same hairdresser that cuts Uncle Benjamin’s”

Punch July 12th 1884

It’s been a long time since I shared a cartoon from Punch’s Almanach for 1884. This one, entitled “Preventive Force” is from the July 12th edition:

“Hold hard! I’ve been vaccinated”

As a precautionary Measure, in some districts the Police have been Vaccinated

To see more cartoons click on the Punch label below

Eat Pray Love

Dom found me the book at a brocante/garage sale/boot sale. She only paid 1€ for it. I had asked for it for my birthday, so now I will be getting something else too!

Now that Rob doesn’t need therapy for his arm I’m not finding the time to read as much as I was. I’m still on the praying part. If you haven’t read it or seen the film, I recommend both.

Years ago I had a boyfriend who was seeking amongst many religions and a lot of what he taught me is coming back as I read. I’ve also decided that I’d like to learn Italian too.

 

Time for short stories

I’ve been reading a lot of short stories recently. As Rob spent about 15 hours having therapy for his fractured elbow and I had to drive him to his appointments for a while, I had a lot of time to sit and just read.

I got through The Penguin Book of English Short Stories which I really enjoyed. Then I was leant a copy of The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. This was in French, but what was nice was that one of her Stories, The Voyage, was in the Penguin book too. I finished that one and then I moved onto The Second Book of English Short Stories. Rob has gone back to work so I’ve slowed down a lot.

Next up: Eat Pray Love. I asked Dom for it for my birthday in September, but she found one for me at a brocante/boot sale/garage sale for 1€. It’s a bit tatty, but as long as the words are all there I don’t care.

More and more books

At the weekend Dom and J-M were staying so we all went over to our favourite Charity Shop, Emmaüs. We had some clothes and odds and ends that we didn’t sell at the last Brocante (boot/garage sale) in September and J-M’s old TV.

Having handed in our donations we then went to the shop and proceeded to stock up with more ‘junk’, mainly books. My pile consisted of:

The Penguin Book of English Short Stories
The Second Penguin Book of English Short Stories
Angel Pavement by J.B. Priestley
The Centaur by John Updike
A Fanatic Heart, selection of stories by Edna O’Brian
Selected Poems 1957-1981 by Ted Hughes
Marlene by Marlene Dietrich
The Client and Playing for Pizza, two books by John Grisham

 Average price 1€ (1$32/£0.83) for each.

 While I was looking through the books when we got home, I found a voucher for a free aperitif at a Chinese Restaurant in Bordeaux – wonder if it’s still valid?

The funniest part was that I recognized the name written in the front of the first Penguin book. I also knew that that person was living in the North of France back in the 70s. One of the retired ladies who come to the house for English conversation has an unusual name and I know that her daughter studied English. When she came to the house on Tuesday I showed her the book and yes, it was her daughter. It was the year she went to London as an au pair. What a strange coincidence!

I have started with Playing for Pizza. I know nothing about American football. Surprise, surprise, I’m really enjoying it

Waiting room reading

I had to wait a long time at the rheumatologist’s this morning. I can’t believe that people can just sit and squirm with boredom for half an hour. I’ve always got a book in my bag. At the moment it’s “Women’s Wicked Wit” compiled by Michelle Lovric. 300 pages of quotes - and yes, as usual, I did laugh out loud. I’m still in the men’s section:

 Annie Proulx said “Listen if it’s got four wheels or a dick you’re goin’ a have trouble with it, guaranteed” and of course lots from Mae West “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork”

There are so many that I wish I could memorise.

 

Sleeping with the Enemy

I’ve had the DVD for several years and watched it several times. Starring Julia Roberts the film is about a young woman, Sara/Laura, abused by her husband who fakes her own drowning to start a new life without him. Of course in her new life she falls in love and lives in fear that her husband will find her again somehow…

I went to a charity shop a few weeks ago. They have a foreign books section and I was delighted to find the book written by Nancy Price, that the film was based on. I couldn’t put it down. It had a lot more depth than the film, helping readers to understand why a lot of women stay with abusive partners. There is also interesting detail; the heroine uses the last of her money to rent a modest apartment, she has no belongings because she’s supposed to have drowned. How can she survive until her new job starts?

If you’ve seen the film and enjoyed it, you’ll enjoy the book.

Love and Einstein

“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.”

I found this quotation in a book. How nice, I thought and went to look for it. It turned out that Einstein indeed wrote it, but not quite:

“Falling in love is not at all the most stupid thing that people do – but gravitation cannot be held responsible for it.”

A Farewell to Arms

I finished the book today. If you haven’t read it I recommend it. I didn’t like Catherine Barkley. I felt that her character was too wishy washy, there was nothing about her that you could get your teeth into. I seem to remember thinking something similar of the leading lady in ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.

Anyway, this post is about a strange and interesting coincidence. In the book, while Frederic Henry is having his wounds tended to, the doctor says ‘You will have nothing to worry about if it doesn’t infect and it rarely does now’. Amongst our purchases at the auction in Limoges this week we picked up a leaflet written for French surgeons in 1914. The leaflet explains how German bullets are smooth and leave clean wounds that do not infect, are easy to deal with and heal well. Allied bullets however, left a lot of damage and danger of infection, etc. as they shattered on impact. How is that for propaganda? Even your wounds healed better if you were on the right side.

Punch February 9th, 1884

Miss Cribbleton (questioning Old Sailor with a view to « copy » for her thrilling Novel in the Mayfair Magazine); “ Dear me ! What a dreadful shipwreck! And how did you feel when the billows were breaking over you?”
Old Salt. “Wet, Marm – very wet!”

Punch January 5, 1884

I still see the people I know in the village who gave me a pile of books a few years ago. This week there was a knock at the door and I was presented with Punch’s Almanac for 1884. A collection of the Punches published in that year. It’s in very good condition, even though the cover and spine have been repaired. I thought I’d share it with you from time to time. I’ve always loved Punch. When I was at school I was in a class where the teacher supplied us with copies if Punch to read during the registration period. In those days Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were frequent victims of the satirists pen.

Today we have two ladies discussing church:

“My Husband is Vicar of St. Boniface – but I don’t attend his Church”
“Indeed! How is that?”
“The fact is, I – I don’t approve of Married Clergymen!”