Racing right along!

I've just finished the next one - and they are actually getting better and better. I'm going to be sorry to have them end!!

I truly wonder why I never read these - they must not have been in the Los Angeles County Bookmobile!!

I continue to recommend them to one and all!

Moving right along with the Hornblower saga!

I was too impatient to wait for the next book to come from Amazon.com, so I went and visited the new Monrovia Library - which is really lovely by the way - and checked it out instead.

Although this one is number 4 chronologically, it was the last book Forrester wrote. He wrote it to fill a void in the years covered in the saga. However, he didn't finish it. His notes for finishing it are included - and I will say that it's a shame he didn't get to finish - it was getting pretty exciting - he was going to be a spy!!

3 down, 8 to go!!

I seem to be racing through these - but I don't have the others - I may finally go visit the new Monrovia Library and get the next one!!

They are pretty compelling reading. Forrester also wrote The African Queen, a fave film of mine - maybe I will read it too! The author is a great story teller - I can't figure out half the technical jargon, but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment.

Another book I ordered came yesterday - Frankly My Dear by Molly Haskell about GWTW of course. It is interesting, but not compelling - which is what I need for my "icing the knees" reading!

2 down, 9 to go!!

I am loving Horatio Hornblower in print, as well as on DVD. I suspect that having seen the DVD's first, I can tell what's going on - the seafaring lingo is like a foreign tongue.

But the stories are more than just action - there's a lot of inner workings of the characters that makes for compelling reading.

And I dearly love a good series, don't you??

One down, 10 to go!!

Now that I've started the Hornblower novels, I'm going to have plenty to read for a long time I suspect!!

It definitely helps that I've seen the movies - I'm not sure I would understand all the naval and seafaring talk.

They are a good read!!

I'm on the second one now - Lieutenant Hornblower. They are somewhat true to the movies - changes are minor, however. What I'm enjoying the most is the insights into the characters - the films did a good job of "fleshing out" the different ones, but it's nice to make the judgments yourself.

Stay tuned - and watch the DVD's if you haven't already!!

"Aye, aye sir" the fans said in chorus!!

The end of the road -

So, I have apparently finished the Maisie Dobbs series - hopefully there will be more forthcoming, because I really enjoy reading them - the perfect escape literature.

I recommend them - Phoebe had thought the last one was "weaker" but I enjoyed it as much as the others. I want her to hurry up and fall in love though - with Detective Stratton!!

Just finished . . .

Felt like I had to finish this before I read my newest Maisie Dobbs novel - and Dad gave me the first two Horatio Hornblower novels, so I have those to look forward to also.

This book has Hester's name in it - but it wasn't a fave or anything - the writing is uneven. The story is compelling, but I didn't feel that things were resolved either.

On to more of Maisie!!

My new fave!!

Perhaps some of you remember when I noted that the first motion picture that I have a memory of seeing was Captain Horatio Hornblower - I wonder how it would look to me now? Maybe I will NetFlix it to see. I remember thinking it was very bloody and exciting. Of course, with Gregory Peck, I'm sure I thought it was romantic too! I do wonder if my folks knew what movie we were going to see? (After our chores were done each Saturday, we hauled off to the Panorama Theater to see the double feature and to have Root Beer Barrels or Bon Bons for our treat. I guess I had finally come of age and could go too! Or maybe I don't remember the others!)

So when Leslie suggested that we would love the A&E version of Hornblower, we gave it a look/see.

Let's just say Dad and I devoured 8 episodes in 5 nights of viewing - and loved every minute of it!

And I am so a fan of Ioan Gruffudd - wonder why he hasn't hit the big time heartthrob-wise?

Maybe I will just have to watch them over and over again - a la GWTW!!

I highly recommend the series!

5 down, one to go!

I think I will be going back to work next week - I see the doctor tomorrow, but I am feeling much more like my old self.

And besides, I only have one more Maisie Dobbs book to go before I'm done with the series - until the author writes another one - which I hope she does soon!! These actually get better with each one!!

This one was quite good - a nice mix of mystery, sorrow, Gypsy lore and wartime reflections - Jacqueline Winspear does know how to spin a tale!

Digging around in the old stuff -

My latest Maisie Dobbs had not arrived, so I picked this one out - even though I have studied Hemingway extensively - at least in years past - I had never read this one.

If you clicked on this to make it larger, you would note how very old it is - as in the price was $1.65!! (And that was new!)

It was your dad's copy for a class at the U I think. Anyway, the Maisie Dobbs books take place after WW I and focus a lot on the issues of that war and how it impacted so much of history. So this was another take - the war in Italy - told from an American point of view.

It is vintage Hemingway - and so some of the staccato dialogue got tedious at times.

But it's a good story - a sad one too - but instructive with the use of imagery and symbolism.

I'm thinking I will add both movie versions (1939 and 1961) to my NetFlix queue.

I'll let you know what I think.