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Post by kunuma1 on Jul 13, 2016 19:26:36 GMT 1
Well I have my first failure, Crystal Magic M Freeman turned out to be another "fancying the boy in school" one, and I couldn't plough through another of those after doing Boys Don't Ride, so gave up on it I'm afraid!
As someone who went to a girl's school and was only interested in ponies as a teen, i just don't get those sort of books, at all!!
However the Android Dog's Tale is turning out to be an imaginative and readable tale!
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Post by garej on Jul 13, 2016 19:47:27 GMT 1
I have started The Dark Horse. It's just as good as I remembered it although I don't remember everything about it so the bits I don't remember are a complete surprise. A pleasant one too.
I will add two more books Claire but I am unsure which ones atm. I think that I will finish the challenge!
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Post by susanb on Jul 13, 2016 20:25:03 GMT 1
:-) I've had books come like that too....and wished for one of those special knives that people used just for the purpose. Wound up using a jackknife, it did the trick, but so much less elegant!
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Post by darkhorse on Jul 13, 2016 21:51:57 GMT 1
I have managed one so far. I would give a smiley, but only just, to Boy's Don't Ride. It was well-written, the characters cared about the horses, they weren't just there as a decoration. However I felt it was more of a teen romance book set against a horse background rather than a horse book. I was quite shocked to read words like 'lust' and 'get into your pants' in a pony book! It's obvioulsy aimed at teens!!
Hi Garej I am glad you enjoyed The Team from Low Moor, even though you found it a slow burner.
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Post by ginslinger on Jul 13, 2016 22:37:14 GMT 1
Oh yes one of my recent buys had been cut. I did see a special edition of some book a while ago where the choice was given. I think it was because 16 pages could be fitted on the sheets that fitted the printers and were then folded. That is why you see a letter of the alphabet on every 16th page in old handsown books so it was clear which order they went.
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Post by Claire on Jul 13, 2016 22:51:11 GMT 1
I've just started Boys Don't Ride as recovering from a tooth extraction and wanted something quick and easy. More tomorrow when I should have finished it.
I've never got round to reading Water Wagtail which is probably a good thing by all accounts. I'm intrigued by the sound of The Android's Dog kunuma, I may have to borrow that one from you some time!
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Post by brumby on Jul 14, 2016 1:33:03 GMT 1
Sorry Claire to be a pest but can I add a couple more titles, may as well put the pressure on! These are sequels to books already on my list:
Whirlwind - Alison Hart
The connemara stallion - Ann Henning
The connemara champion - Ann Henning
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Post by kunuma1 on Jul 14, 2016 15:44:39 GMT 1
I've just started Boys Don't Ride as recovering from a tooth extraction and wanted something quick and easy. More tomorrow when I should have finished it. I've never got round to reading Water Wagtail which is probably a good thing by all accounts. I'm intrigued by the sound of The Android's Dog kunuma, I may have to borrow that one from you some time! Claire the Android Dog was a Kindle freebie - might still be if you are quick. Have just got my hands on a very scruffy but ultra rare book from the states for 64p plus postage - yea!!! It's sci fi though so I won't go on about it lol!!
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Post by tintin on Jul 14, 2016 20:58:02 GMT 1
Please could I have a smiley face for "Bridle-Wise" ?
Started "Mounting Danger" - reviewing this book will be interesting, romance here too, but the Policewoman Sergeant isn't interested in boys...
Not that that bothers me, but the shocking state of the head kit of the police horse on the cover does
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Post by brumby on Jul 15, 2016 7:49:19 GMT 1
Finished Shadow Horse - Alison Hart It was my partners choice. thanks Claire really enjoyed it, the characters were interesting, the horse content was great very enjoyable read. Big smiley for this one. Am going to tackle the sequel next Whirlwind, should be interesting it was written 10 years after the first book.
Has anyone read any of her other books?
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Post by haffyfan on Jul 15, 2016 21:51:02 GMT 1
Well i was feeling pleased with myself as i managed to read one of mine at last, only to realise looking back i had forgotten to add it to my list It was Boys Don't Ride and i'll give it a slightly generous smiley regardless as it had some nice parts, i wish the author had delved a bit deeper in places, especially on the social aspect side regarding the characters differences in their peers eyes. There was room for more depth here, although it probably would have stopped it being a pony book. I liked the male perspective for a change and the way the booked stepped away from the norm in that the lead never actually set foot on a horse during the story itself. It was also nice to see it being promoted that you can be around and have all the pleasure a horse brings without having/being able to ride.
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Post by Claire on Jul 15, 2016 22:45:11 GMT 1
Brumby re. Alison Hart, glad you enjoyed Shadow Horse. Whirlwind isn't quite as good IMHO. I have read a couple of Alison Hart's other books and they are just pretty basic tween pony stories. In Shadow Horse she really seems to up her game in writing for an older readership. Reminds me a bit of Diana Kimpton moving from Pony Mad Princess series to There Must be Horses. (Which I thoroughly recommend to anyone).
Well I've also finished Boys Don't Ride and am pretty sure its the one Kunuma said was really politically correct. Single parents, lesbians, same sex parents, disabled and special needs kids, not to mention a modern day Beauty and the Beast story which had the modern twist of boy being the Beauty. I agree with Darkhorse that it was more of a romance than a horse story. However like Haffy says, there was room for a lot more depth in that respect. In a way it sort of just missed being either a teen romance or a pony book. I wonder why was the story set against a horse background, does anyone know much about the author and if she is horsy?
I also don't think it quite delivers as a book for horsy boys, which it what I thought it was before I read it. Although it has a male main character it didn't quite ring true as a male voice, it seemed far too feminine, and if that sounds sexist, then let me say I can remember (just) teenage boys from the far off days of my youth and they certainly didn't resemble Tull in the slightest. In fact it almost perpetuates the myth that 'real men/boys don't love horses' due to Tull being such a soppy wet hen.
I agree with Kunuma, the PC element is overdone. For instance why not make Liberty just plain, instead she is given physical problems and scars. Its overkill. I actually thought at first that Tull was Asian or black, due to a couple of things he said and the odd name. I don't think it was said anywhere in the book but it would certainly fit in with the rest of the PC theme.
I sound a bit harsh but I actually liked a lot of it. It was easy to read and the characters were well rounded. I also liked the fact that horses were there not as status symbols or something to win trophies with. Like Haffy said, Tull didn't even get to ride them but still enjoyed being with them, which is for me the mark of a true horsy person.
I'm in a bit of a dither over what to vote here, at the moment swinging between a smilie and Kunuma's 'Conflicted' symbol!
Oh before I go one more question: does anyone fancy a guess at what the book was which Liberty lends to Tull, is it a real one or made up? A book with a boy character who rides and has a scarred face...?
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Post by haffyfan on Jul 16, 2016 11:51:52 GMT 1
I didn't pick up on the scarred face bit but the only decent modern books i can think of with a male character are Sheena Wilkinon's Taking Flight/Grounded. For some reason i had thought the book/Author was American prior to reading, having just looked the Author up on Amazon it seems she is Horsey About the Author Katharina Marcus is a Brightonian author of German-Jewish descent with a Dutch passport and a nationless heart. She lives in perpetual chaos on a ball in space with one husband, two children, four ponies and a cat. A life-long horse woman with a serious penchant for bareback riding, she tops up her meagre earnings from writing by moonlighting as a freelance riding instructor and horse trainer when not practising as a psychotherapist or serving food.
It seems she is also the author of The Boy With Amber Eyes, I seem to recall Jane Badger (i think) giving that one a rave review and lots of agreement. One to check out i think.
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Post by haffyfan on Jul 16, 2016 11:54:55 GMT 1
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Post by garej on Jul 16, 2016 13:38:47 GMT 1
I have finished THE DARK HORSE and I would give it a SMILEY. I hadn't read it for 10 years and enjoyed it as much as I did all those years ago.
So that means that I have finished all my books in the challenge. I will probably add 2 more to get the third rosette but I have yet to decide. Books in the running include All That Glitters, The Ponies From Bunts, Dark Horses (Jane Ayres) and The Will to Win (Mary May).
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Post by kunuma1 on Jul 16, 2016 19:12:43 GMT 1
OK Smiley for Android Dog, a fun read whether you like sci fi or not. Started Spinward Fringe, nearly gave up on it in the first chapter but got an inkling as to what was going on and pushed on, so far I am glad I did, BUT I do wish authors would brush up their grammar before writing books aaaaargh!!
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Post by susanb on Jul 17, 2016 0:14:48 GMT 1
still slogging through Water Wagtail...61 pages..only 100 to go. Sigh.
Started reading Reining in Murder by Leigh Hearon on the train to/from work....really good so far, the horsey details spot on. Hoping it keeps up the pace, because it's the first in a series, Carson Stables Mystery, next due out in October.
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Post by Claire on Jul 17, 2016 12:37:18 GMT 1
Just a quickie to say I have updated everyone's smilies and rosettes. Well done to all, especially Kunuma who is the first to get a red rosette! Please folks can you check I have everything right and up to date. SUMMER READING CHALLENGE 2016 WEB PAGEBrumby, I haven't had a chance to add your new books yet as ran out of time. Will do so in the next day or two. If anyone else wants to add books can you choose them soon as it's a bit time consuming to add them and would rather do them all in one chunk! Ta x BTW have decided that Boys Don't Ride will just scrape a smiley.
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Post by susanb on Jul 17, 2016 15:19:46 GMT 1
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Post by ginslinger on Jul 17, 2016 18:14:09 GMT 1
I am missing a conflicted smiley for Ghost Horse please, Claire, and I have just finished the Last Lighthouse Keeper, which gets a smiley as readable for its rather lightweight genre and better than I expected. Cheers. Now Ii had better tackle either the big one or the literary one....
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Post by kunuma1 on Jul 17, 2016 18:25:06 GMT 1
Drat, I've forgotten myself what I was going to give to Crystal Dances, I'll speed read it again tonight because I can't even remember what it was about LOL
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Post by brumby on Jul 18, 2016 0:12:04 GMT 1
Sorry Claire to be a pest adding extra books Claire you have missed a smiley for TransitionsJust Finished Whirlwind it also gets a smiley Totally agree with you Claire, it wasn't as good as Shadow Horse, I found it a bit repetitive. But I still enjoyed it, the ending was a bit of a whirlwind seemed a to be a lot of action at the end and not much in the rest of the book.
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Post by garej on Jul 18, 2016 13:12:23 GMT 1
I have started The Will to Win (the Manor Acre version) by Mary May. Good so far.
Not sure what book I will be reading next though.
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Post by tintin on Jul 18, 2016 13:22:56 GMT 1
Please could I have a big smiley face for "Mounting Danger" works as a police story, works as a horse story and works as a love story (though a bit explicit - deffo for adults)
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Post by garej on Jul 18, 2016 16:08:35 GMT 1
Finished THE WILL TO WIN and would give it a SMILEY. It's a shame that the author isn't very well known as it's a well written book. Very enjoyable.
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Post by kunuma1 on Jul 18, 2016 16:17:47 GMT 1
Crystal Dances - silly book that can't decide whether to be a fairy tale or a pony story and doesn't make it on either count! Gets a neutral just because I'm trying to be nice today! lol
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Post by brumby on Jul 19, 2016 11:20:03 GMT 1
Finished The Snow Pony its worth a huge smiley Loved everything about this book. Characters were very likeable, the setting was fabulous and the story tackled some tough issues such as the effect of drought on the people who earn their livelihood on the land. I think part of the reason i liked this book so much was because the high country where part of the story is set reminded me so much of the 6 day high country ride that I did many years ago, it took me straight back to the time and I relived so many happy memories, such a beautiful part of the world.
Have also finished The impossible horse, it will just scrape in with a smiley, it was quite enjoyable but not in the same league as The Snow Pony.
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Post by garej on Jul 19, 2016 15:25:00 GMT 1
I have read DARK HORSES by JANE AYRES and would give it a SMILEY. Good continuation of the series - darkhorse if you like The Horse On The Balcony I recommend you read it. I have the third in the series but am not sure to tackle next.
Oh and Claire if you add the latest two to the webpage that means that I get another rosette! Not sure to add another three books to make it up to ten!
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Post by susanb on Jul 19, 2016 19:43:17 GMT 1
Yea, another person loves Snow Pony! One of my favorite modern books....I do wish Lester had continued to write for this age range
Claire, finished Reining in Murder....just scrapes a smiley. After starting strong, the second half fizzled badly. Mystery lost steam/its way, and some odd gaps in the writers knowledge about equine sport, in spite of her being very knowledgeable about horses generally. I'll probably give her next book a shot, to see if it improves, but it'll have to be from the library.
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Post by tintin on Jul 19, 2016 21:06:36 GMT 1
Oh Brumby I am sorry you were n't overly thrilled by "Impossible Horse" I love it. I think, however, often how much we like a pony book is sometimes massively influenced by whether (and how well) it reflects a world we knew or wanted to now. The book massively hits the spot for me.
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