|
Post by Claire on Jul 18, 2015 23:33:37 GMT 1
Hi all, latest smilies added. Well done to Kunuma and Susan who have earned yellow rosettes. I've got the lurgy so I have been reading a lot but as luck would have it have only got one of my challenge books with me, The Linwood Barclay non-pony crime thriller. I'm about a third thru and enjoying it.
Yeah Garej I noticed that JPT is very popular - but only 1 book by CPT and surprisingly none by DPT.
|
|
|
Post by brumby on Jul 19, 2015 9:42:42 GMT 1
SMILEYS for THE QUICKSAND PONY and THE HOMECOMING really enjoyed both of these.
|
|
|
Post by kunuma1 on Jul 19, 2015 15:38:01 GMT 1
Have you read the books by Shelia Hocken(sp) about her guide dog Emma? There is also a children's book called Emma's story, which i loved as a child, told from the puppy, Emma's, perspective about her life with the puppy walker through to meeting Sheila. Oh well done Haffy, I had forgotten all about those - they must have been from back in the eighties I should think - didn't she get her sight back and finish up with a house full of labs? I'll have a hunt around for them - the second hand book thing on Amazon is really good sometimes, I got a huge great coffee table lab book, out of print and in good condition, sent from the states and it only cost £2.80!! Must admit though, that mine aren't the prospective guide dog type ................................ rather more the live wire type!!
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Jul 19, 2015 15:40:27 GMT 1
SMILEYS for THE QUICKSAND PONY and THE HOMECOMING really enjoyed both of these. I'll get those smilies added shortly Brumby. We are doing well - still no frownies The Quicksand Pony is one I've been meaning to read for literally years. I MUST get round to it soon! The Homecoming is very good but a bit heart-rending. I've written a short review of it on here, so you may like to add a comment or vote for it on this link: ponybooks.proboards.com/thread/2268/homecoming-marlena-frick
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 19, 2015 18:19:23 GMT 1
SMILEYs for ONE DAY EVENT and PONY CLUB CAMP for me, please, Claire. Great books (of course) -- classics of the genre to be sure.
|
|
|
Post by susanb on Jul 19, 2015 22:40:39 GMT 1
Smiley please for Penny's Bargain Horse by Kate Wehren, a very enjoyable read about a girl patiently rehabilitating a horse that had been abused. Ending a bit pat, but satisfying nonetheless.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 20, 2015 12:26:19 GMT 1
Someone please help me out with Ride By Night! Published in 1960, so during the Cold War, surely Romania was already behind the Iron Curtain, so why would two Romanian men be pursued by Russians, and why would that situation be so obvious and unsurprising to the kids? And what would Romanians and Russians be doing in small boats (trawlers) off the Scottish shore?
This is not seeming like mere improbable or outlandish adventure to me, but rather surreal and incomprehensible. Help! Thanks~
PS OK so it looks like the Romanians are seeking political asylum/ defecting but it all seems pretty ridiculous.
|
|
|
Post by tintin on Jul 20, 2015 13:23:57 GMT 1
Soviet trawlers and fish factory ships could be found everywhere - some actually fishing - they were packed with radio technical equipment and loved to hang around air bases, fleet exercises, oil rigs basically anything that was at all interesting to Soviet intelligence. Everyone had at least one Communist party or Young Communist member on board
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 20, 2015 15:13:07 GMT 1
Thanks, tintin!
SMILEY for RIDE BY NIGHT. SPOILERS-- (comments will only make sense if you've read the book)
Hmm, it's almost a neutral rating instead of a smiley, not really because of the grim tone, but because I thought the kids acted without a lot of common sense. Waiting for nightfall to ride from the tents made sense, but they provisioned twice at an occupied crofter's cottage near their tents -- even though it had no telephone, why didn't they stay there and send a few of the party out for help, with the crofter, who presumably would know the area and not be lost like they were? Only thing I could figure was they didn't want to bring the Russians to the croft or something, or thought it would be dangerous to stay at the only occupied dwelling in the area, but still, they could have received some assistance from the crofter or his wife beyond getting food from them. Then overall they did way too much splitting up, leaving small groups of them in danger and the others not knowing where everyone else was. Just weirdly plotted and with kind of a grim tone. With the one adult leaving early on because of his lame horse -- they should all have walked out with him given they were already quite lost right from the get-go. And the narrator was too hard on the "rich girl" -- it was good that she wasn't portrayed as snobby at all, but her horse was lamed, partly because the idiot narrator didn't check right away for a stone in her hoof -- and the rich girl's dog was killed. Sorry but both my dog dying and my horse getting lamed would have me in pieces and I thought the rest of the kids weren't understanding enough about that. Not completely horrid but they acted like she was a drip, and well, she had plenty of reason to be upset.
I did think the moments before the action were well drawn -- like the night before the departure, and the first morning on the journey, and even the opening scenes with the narrator describing the fields of home -- those small moments can seem so real to me, and really take me into a scene so vividly, and give me a sense of the narrator's experiences. CPT has a lot of those scenic and emotional descriptive moments -- short but well drawn -- that really resonate with me.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 18:18:49 GMT 1
Amazingly I can remember a lot in this book, but I didn't enjoy it I'm afraid! In fact I can say it's my most least liked pony book ever. I've never been a fan of adventure type books and the whole plot seemed totally ridiculous to me. But by what you say tintin some of it does make a bit more sense now I know that.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Jul 20, 2015 22:57:48 GMT 1
I agree with Rosie Ride By Night is possibly my least favourite PT novel. I don't much like adventure pony stories either. I wonder if it was more aimed at boys than the other CPT books, hence the danger/Russian element. I remember my first copy of the book had belonged to my uncle and he wasn't at all interested in horses.
Kunuma, on the subject of books with Labradors in - have you read A Home For Jessie by CPT? I've got a copy but not got round to reading it, its aimed at a younger readership than most of her pony books by the look of it.
|
|
|
Post by tintin on Jul 21, 2015 12:32:36 GMT 1
Could I have a big smiley face for
Dream Pony
please - a lovely, if short, book
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 23, 2015 5:09:52 GMT 1
Well, A Summer of Horses is proving to be a surprising and delightful read! Maybe not quite as good as the best of K.M. Peyton or (my new gold standard) The War that Saved My Life, but pretty close. All the characters are drawn well, and - thinking of Susan mentioning the inclusion of the adults in Dark Sunshine - the adults are as important as characters as the narrator and her older sister.
The narrator, Faith, does a great job trying (and mostly succeeding) at not being too jealous of her pretty, athletic older sister, even when her sister proves to be the better rider, at least at first. But the boy-crazy sister truly enjoys riding and does her share of the work around the horses at the stable of the family friend with whom the sisters are staying for the summer. Faith is normally the one in their family who loves animals and has a "connection" with them, but not in a woo-woo way, she just tunes right into their body language and approaches them carefully and with awareness of how they are reacting to her. Her first interactions with horses are thrilling, such as when she is given the driving reins of a horse and proves to have good, intuitive hands -- but then a short time later the horses as a herd in a field spook and bolt all around her, intimidating her with their size and their flighty reactiveness, which she isn't used to. But later basic handling them in and around the stables and then the joy she finds in communicating with them through longework lays the foundation for her to feel ready to try riding again when the need arises.
Faith finds her own strengths in very "shown, not told" way and does a truly delightful thing in reaching out to a horseman with whom she feels an immediate rapport, and introducing him to her family.
Lot of "meat" here in a short, very readable book. Not surprised to find out Fenner was twice a Newbery runner up.
|
|
|
Post by trixiepony on Jul 23, 2015 7:37:48 GMT 1
Well i have just finished Eventer's Dream love it as always Elaine shore dus have it tuff at the Fane's house, trying too turn there run down old stable in to a growing business. I gess it's a smiley face a big grinning smiley face. I'm guessing my faverit will be one in this three book set.
|
|
|
Post by trixiepony on Jul 24, 2015 1:51:15 GMT 1
I feel like I'm getting left behind as most are almost threw there list already.
|
|
|
Post by susanb on Jul 24, 2015 5:07:04 GMT 1
don't feel bad, Trixie....people who are fast out of the gate often fizzle in the home stretch I've just picked up my needlework after YEARS of neglect, so I have a feeling my reading speed is about to drop off a cliff! Rally, Summer of Horses sounds really excellent....I've got it on kindle, will have to tackle it after the summer challenge (and embroidery fever) is over!
|
|
|
Post by kunuma1 on Jul 24, 2015 14:50:53 GMT 1
Have got hold of four Emma and I books - think they are Emma and I, Emma and Co, Emma Forever and After Emma - can I put them on my list please? Looking for a Home for Jessie - it had better not be like Secret Dog? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Jul 24, 2015 16:35:19 GMT 1
Have got hold of four Emma and I books - think they are Emma and I, Emma and Co, Emma Forever and After Emma - can I put them on my list please? Looking for a Home for Jessie - it had better not be like Secret Dog? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crikey I hope not. I will try and give it a quick speed read first! Yep I'll add the other books to your list. I can't remember if I have read Summer of Horses or not. I don't recall the characters so maybe not, even tho I have a copy on my shelves. I'll defo have to pick it up after the Challenge is finished. Trixie - as Susan's said this is a test of Stamina not Speed. I'm plodding along, only on my 3rd book. The Challenge is to finish the list not to be the first one past the post so just enjoy your reading and don't worry! I have to amend my list slightly as I had the wrong Felix Francis book on it: It's Damage not Refusal! I'm enjoying it. I actually find the Felix Francis written books pretty good, perhaps not as good as Dick's best ones but they are decent mysteries and usually have interesting back drops and plots. He does decent research. The heroes are more realistic than his father's in a way as they aren't as brave and self-sacrifcing. It defor merits a smiley. Unfortunately I have a HUGE gripe with it. I am reading the American edition of it and it has the same 'Americanisation' of the story we are now seeing in children's pony books set in the UK but published in the USA. Altho quite definitely set in England, as it features the British race courses, we have Mom substituted for Mum, freeway for motorway, etc. This is really jarring. It's bad enough when child readers are considered too stupid to work out what the words mean, but now it seems even adult readers are being treated the same patronising way. It's the first time I've seen this in an adult book and I certainly hope it's not going to become a common occurence.
|
|
|
Post by brumby on Jul 24, 2015 22:45:34 GMT 1
SMILEY for I WROTE A PONY BOOK what a great read I loved it from start to finish, the writing reminded me of Ruby Ferguson. Well with the money I paid for it am delighted.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Jul 25, 2015 0:41:15 GMT 1
SMILEY for I WROTE A PONY BOOK what a great read I loved it from start to finish, the writing reminded me of Ruby Ferguson. Well with the money I paid for it am delighted. One of my favourite pony books Brumby! I did a review of this a few years back. Here is the thread if you would like to add comments or vote on it: ponybooks.proboards.com/thread/111/review-wrote-pony-joanna-cannan
|
|
|
Post by garej on Jul 26, 2015 0:16:12 GMT 1
Have got hold of four Emma and I books - think they are Emma and I, Emma and Co, Emma Forever and After Emma - can I put them on my list please? Looking for a Home for Jessie - it had better not be like Secret Dog? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crikey I hope not. I will try and give it a quick speed read first! Yep I'll add the other books to your list. I can't remember if I have read Summer of Horses or not. I don't recall the characters so maybe not, even tho I have a copy on my shelves. I'll defo have to pick it up after the Challenge is finished. Trixie - as Susan's said this is a test of Stamina not Speed. I'm plodding along, only on my 3rd book. The Challenge is to finish the list not to be the first one past the post so just enjoy your reading and don't worry! I have only just finished my third book so it's not like you are being terribly left behind. Can I have a smiley for Longshot. Enjoyable from start to finish. I havent read any Dick Francis books before, and I will definitely read one again (which is a good thing because I have one other one). Not sure who I will tackle next - definitely not JPT because I have had enough of death - either K M Peyton or Victoria Eveleigh. Possibly tackle The Ponies of Bunts. I enjoyed Sea Ponies and I liked the period photographs in it. The Ponies Of Bunts has period photographs to boot. [edit] I have realised I get my first rosette - yay!
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 26, 2015 1:37:43 GMT 1
Big SMILEY for A SUMMER OF HORSES by Carol Fenner, please!
PS -- Oops on me, I see you already got it, Claire. I actually hadn't quite finished it until last night, but it was sure to be a smiley anyway!
|
|
|
Post by trixiepony on Jul 26, 2015 8:21:20 GMT 1
I got a phone call from the library on Friday that have a book for me, so I gess I'm off track again. Oh well I'm having fun anyway.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 26, 2015 14:44:44 GMT 1
I know what you mean, Trixie -- even though we are not all reading the same book(s), it is fun checking in and sharing thoughts about the books and characters, and how we are all progressing (or not!) on our lists.
I started my Dorothy Lyons reading with Red Embers, and I am finding it a bit of a slog. I think Dark Sunshine was a good choice for the reading circle because I do think it is probably one of the author’s best. Red Embers is reminding me a bit of the Silver Burch/Midnight Moon/Golden Sovereign trilogy. The heroine in Red Embers is just a wee bit too perfect and also kind of a goody-goody to me. Also, I remember the horse issue/problem in Red Embers, and it is reasonably well done, but I remember from my one reading of the Silver Birch trilogy that the horse problem was obvious to the reader and took the otherwise perfect heroine much too long to figure out [MINOR SPOILER ALERT FOR MIDNIGHT MOON & GOLDEN SOVEREIGN] – in Midnight Moon she didn’t like her double bridle, and in Golden Sovereign the stallion wouldn’t show well when he was away from his stable mascot (a goat IIRC). Just a predictable pattern to most of Lyons’s books.
More than that, though, to me there is strong gender role assignment in Red Embers that is making me squirm. The heroine wants to not go to college/university so she can stay home and train horses but also to “keep house” for her father and younger brother. Lots of talk about the house needing a woman’s touch and it’s so laudable for “Phil” to want to be the little woman for her family. Whatevs. I don’t remember all books from that era being quite so steeped in gender role expectations. Even if, for example, Jill ends up opting for secretarial school, there isn’t so much talk of womanly virtues throughout the series. Anyway I hope the book gets down to some polo soon. As it is Red Embers is slow going.
PS: Ok, I was reading the ponymad page on Lyons, and I do really like Harlequin Hullabaloo and remember liking Bright Wampum a lot in childhood, so I guess Lyons is hit-or-miss with me. She has some strong "hits" but then some of the books are just too formulaic or pedestrian or something for me.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 26, 2015 15:03:51 GMT 1
BTW CLAIRE: I do hope you will consider writing a strongly-worded letter to the publisher of the Felix Francis book you read decrying this foul bastardization of the books. (It is really beyond stupid.)
|
|
|
Post by haffyfan on Jul 27, 2015 9:41:20 GMT 1
Haha i've still only finished one and this rate will not finish anymore. I'm languishing a bit with game of thrones currently, i just don't feel some of the newer characters like the men of the iron isles/Drowned men for example. I much prefer Tyrion and Arya's viewpoints.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Jul 27, 2015 15:40:13 GMT 1
Haha i've still only finished one and this rate will not finish anymore. I'm languishing a bit with game of thrones currently, i just don't feel some of the newer characters like the men of the iron isles/Drowned men for example. I much prefer Tyrion and Arya's viewpoints. No need to worry about falling behind we're only 2 weeks into the challenge yet! Don't forget also, if anyone simply can't finish a book let me know as not being able to finish merits a frownie face.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Jul 28, 2015 5:14:20 GMT 1
Red Embers has picked up nicely -- it's pretty long though especially for the target age group, so I have a ways to go yet.
|
|
|
Post by susanb on Jul 28, 2015 19:01:15 GMT 1
Smiley, please, for Timbered Treasure by Mildred Wirt. Not up to the best of her work, but still an enjoyable way to pass a few hours!
|
|
|
Post by susanb on Jul 29, 2015 17:28:54 GMT 1
Another smiley for Four Ponies by Judith Campbell.
I'm pretty sure this wins the all-time ridiculous accumulation of ponies title....FOUR ponies AND necessary tack (saddles, bridles, halters, harness, pony carts, etc) basically fall from the sky! Firm, cement-like, suspension of disbelief should be in place before opening the cover, but it's still worthwile...both ponies and girls characters are well definined and appealing, which is really unusual in a short (150pgs) book with so many characters.
|
|