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Post by Claire on Sept 4, 2016 22:45:01 GMT 1
I like those two also Darkhorse. Hope you had a good holiday. Thank goodness for books to read on flights! Susan - dare I ask how Water Wagtail is going....?
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Post by susanb on Sept 5, 2016 15:36:08 GMT 1
Ha! This morning, Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer in the US....I FINISHED WATER WAGTAIL! Yes! Can I get a frowny and a trophy, please?...I earned it this year Also, now that I've finished my challenge, I'll name my Star Read - Led by the Grey!
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Post by tintin on Sept 8, 2016 12:13:52 GMT 1
Could I have a smiley face for Hamilton please - despite being an account of domestic misery it was an enjoyable, very well written book
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Post by haffyfan on Sept 9, 2016 17:02:43 GMT 1
I'm struggling with Midnight Horse, I'm clearly the only person in the world who doesn't like her style of writing, especially all the regional dialect, the characters i can't get into either, they don't endear themselves to me one bit and so far it's pretty stereotypical to boot with a neglected pony owned by gypsies... On the plus side finally found a copy of Mount in Tesco, since Asda didn't have it yesterday, but then again it was near where i work and not many of the locals are literate
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Post by kunuma1 on Sept 9, 2016 18:30:32 GMT 1
I'm struggling with Midnight Horse, I'm clearly the only person in the world who doesn't like her style of writing, especially all the regional dialect, the characters i can't get into either, they don't endear themselves to me one bit and so far it's pretty stereotypical to boot with a neglected pony owned by gypsies... On the plus side finally found a copy of Mount in Tesco, since Asda didn't have it yesterday, but then again it was near where i work and not many of the locals are literate Oh dear! If it's any consolation everything in her books is based on real life - I even have a friend who acquired her stallion driving past a gypsy camp and stopping to rescue him so it still happens! Perhaps if you started reading from the beginning of the series you will get into the characters more? I know for me they became friends by the third book. So all you have to do now is read them all.................................................. It's got to be easier than hatching butterflies.............................
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Post by Claire on Sept 9, 2016 22:07:57 GMT 1
Well done Susan for finishing WW I'm afraid I give up a lot easier. Especially nowadays. The older I get the less time I want to waste struggling through dull books!! Giggling at Haffy's attempts to read Midnight Horse. Haffy - have you tried to read any of the other series, less of the dialect stuff, eccentric characters and more down to earth. You may even like Black Hunting Whip...? I don't think you're the only one who doesn't like Monica Edwards books either. Tintin - glad you liked Hamilton. I do too. I think it's very overlooked as a 'horsy' book. Ok I know it's an imaginary horse but what a great character Hamilton is! It's by far Catherine Cookson's most imaginative story too. I'd also recommend the sequel Goodbye Hamilton but I'd give the 3rd one in the series a miss as it reverts back to standard Catherine Cookson melodramatic fare and not much about Hamilton either.
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Post by haffyfan on Sept 10, 2016 21:45:33 GMT 1
I read Wish for A pony a few years back as everyone raved about it and suggested it the best place to start. I'd honestly rather read The saddle club, personal opinion was it was pretty rubbish and i didn't get the hype around her
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Post by Claire on Sept 10, 2016 22:38:45 GMT 1
I read Wish for A pony a few years back as everyone raved about it and suggested it the best place to start. I'd honestly rather read The saddle club, personal opinion was it was pretty rubbish and i didn't get the hype around her Well apparently even the author herself didn't like that book a few years after writing it! I would give Black Hunting Whip a try and if you don't like that one there's no hope for you with her books lol. I must admit even I find a couple of the farming ones a bit dull. (sorry Kunuma)
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Post by susanb on Sept 11, 2016 14:12:40 GMT 1
I disliked Wish for a Pony too, Haffy, (one more word about Diccon's antics and I was going to vomit ). I read (I think for the challenge) No Mistaking Corker and enjoyed it though, and went on to Black Hunting Whip, which was excellent.....both are in the other series, the Punchbowl series....though the first takes place before they buy Punchbowl farm
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Post by Claire on Sept 12, 2016 0:09:04 GMT 1
I disliked Wish for a Pony too, Haffy, (one more word about Diccon's antics and I was going to vomit ) ROFL Suaan! I didn't dislike Wish for a Pony, I thought it was nice enough but preferred Corker, and it's not in the same league as some of her others like Black Hunting Whip, Spirit of Punchbowl Farm, Dolphin Summer and The Wild One, etc. Got distracted from Blue Rosette by a new Mark Billingham crime novel! But I'm now in the Lake District with my Mum for a few days walking/hiking and it's the only book I've taken with me so I should hopefully get it finished. Unfortunately I've had to bring work with me too.
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Post by fizz on Sept 12, 2016 22:11:15 GMT 1
I am having difficulty getting through my final book, Easter the Show Jumper. The characters are annoying and the story-line is very unconvincing. Nice illustrations by Michael Lyne though.
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Post by Claire on Sept 12, 2016 23:02:35 GMT 1
I am having difficulty getting through my final book, Easter the Show Jumper. The characters are annoying and the story-line is very unconvincing. Nice illustrations by Michael Lyne though. I know what you mean Fizz. I think it's the worst one in the series. They're all pretty unbelievable plots when you think about them but somehow just manage to suspend disbelief in the other books. I find Ann extremely irritating!!
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Post by garej on Sept 13, 2016 18:35:49 GMT 1
I haven't done much reading though it may change tomorrow. I am having electric work done so there's a strong possibility of the electric being turned off if so I will be bringing my books out. That's the advantages of having a physical book - you don't need electricity!
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Post by kunuma1 on Sept 13, 2016 20:52:12 GMT 1
I read Wish for A pony a few years back as everyone raved about it and suggested it the best place to start. I'd honestly rather read The saddle club, personal opinion was it was pretty rubbish and i didn't get the hype around her Haffy have you read Black Hunting Whip? I think if you don't like that one, then I'll concede defeat! The Wild One though one of her best ones in many opinions drove me mad with the idea that you had to kill a calf to feed a wild cat and couldn't just pop down the road and get some meat from the supermarket!!
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Post by fizz on Sept 14, 2016 17:41:32 GMT 1
I read Wish for A pony a few years back as everyone raved about it and suggested it the best place to start. I'd honestly rather read The saddle club, personal opinion was it was pretty rubbish and i didn't get the hype around her Haffy have you read Black Hunting Whip? I think if you don't like that one, then I'll concede defeat! The Wild One though one of her best ones in many opinions drove me mad with the idea that you had to kill a calf to feed a wild cat and couldn't just pop down the road and get some meat from the supermarket!! I think that the Punchbowl Series are far superior to the Romney ones. Some of the characters in the Romney ones are irritating, but to be fair I have only read two of them.
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Post by Claire on Sept 15, 2016 23:49:31 GMT 1
Quote of the week (from Blue Rosette): "Everyone who has to do with horses should know how to drink!"
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Post by garej on Sept 17, 2016 19:26:19 GMT 1
Well I didn't have any reading done although I had my electric work done he only turned the electricity off for 20 mins.
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Post by haffyfan on Sept 22, 2016 20:37:36 GMT 1
I read Wish for A pony a few years back as everyone raved about it and suggested it the best place to start. I'd honestly rather read The saddle club, personal opinion was it was pretty rubbish and i didn't get the hype around her Haffy have you read Black Hunting Whip? I think if you don't like that one, then I'll concede defeat! The Wild One though one of her best ones in many opinions drove me mad with the idea that you had to kill a calf to feed a wild cat and couldn't just pop down the road and get some meat from the supermarket!! No, wish for a pony is the only one i've read. I inherited some from my Mum but never read them as not horsey enough, no idea which they were now. I'm about to retry Midnight horse...do i really have to try another if i can't get on with it I don't think i'll manage muy last three as all on pc kindle and not got the time/inclination to read on that now i'm back into work mode. Meanwhile can i have a big smiley and award star read to Mount
It was always going to get it anyway. Like Jump, it's not a patch on the earlier stuff but it's still lovely to revisit old friends and she still had me hooked wanting to know what happened next. Like her more recent stuff it's a bit far fetched and often lots of pointless, dare i say it, drivel, but i simply adore her books and characters non the less. Wicked (bar the rather uncomfortable under age sex) grew on me on a second read and maybe Jump and Mount will too (not ready for another read of these two just yet!) Not worthy of being held in the same esteem as say Polo or Appasionata, but like most Jilly fans when you've been eagerly awaiting the next instalment for so long you'll tend to love it regardless.
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Post by Claire on Sept 24, 2016 19:54:10 GMT 1
I somehow have managed to lose Blue Rosette before I quite finished it. Hopefully I will find it before the challenge ends! But it will get a smiley. I have now started on The Quick Sand Pony. I'm not certain I will bother with my last book (Beside Me) as what I have heard about it has put me off a little. Well folks one week to go (let's say we end it next Sunday night) and then I think we'll wrap this up and move onto something else.
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Post by ginslinger on Sept 25, 2016 11:32:09 GMT 1
Shuffles in looking embarrassed. I am sorry. I was ill and went away and have had malfunctioning equipment. I have also struggled with what remained on my list and read other things. One last push then.
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Post by kunuma1 on Sept 25, 2016 18:03:27 GMT 1
I think I gained most out of this, my recommended books were a joy and I found a whole new author in scifi! Also found it it is apparently possible to make money out of being an author even if you cannot spell and have no grasp of basic grammar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Claire on Sept 25, 2016 21:49:19 GMT 1
No worries Ginslinger. These things happen. Also we never all finish the Challenge. I haven't finished one yet!!!
Kunuma, glad you enjoyed it. I think next year I will try and choose more books I am excited about rather than those I feel I should read.
I'd be interested to hear what everyone thought of the Challenge this year. Did you all enjoy the book recommendation part of the Challenge? If so I may continue it next year, though I think I may do it a slightly different way instead of having pairs. Maybe everyone can recommend a book each and we can all choose from the list.
Don't forget to tell me your star (favourite) book of the Challenge, whether or not you finished it by the end or not.
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Post by susanb on Sept 30, 2016 1:32:29 GMT 1
I had a great time reading for the challenge this year! I do like the bit where you have some open choices...the last couple of years I've been in a total pony-book mood, and didn't do many (or possibly any) non-pony books, but it's nice to have the option open to mix it up a bit if the mood strikes.
Loved the recommended part, my star read was the book recommended by tintin, Led by the Grey....I would NEVER have come across that book any other way, and it was a treat (I hope not the last by this author, I'd love a sequel). Tintin actually recommended a couple of books, the other is in my tbr pile still, so I have something to look forward to when winter draws in!
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Post by Claire on Sept 30, 2016 16:02:41 GMT 1
Susan, glad you enjoyed it. I must admit I am tempted to try Led by the Grey now it's been recommended by 2 such discerning readers! Maybe one for the Santa wish list! Well I have finished my list now (or as much as I am going to)with only one left which I didn't get to - so it's the best I've done so far. Maybe next year I will finish the whole thing. I found Blue Rosette and got the last few pages done. Smilies for both that one and the Quick-Sand Pony. My star read has to be one of the Alison Lester's it's hard to decide between them but I'll plump for Snow Pony. I'm doing an update of the web page now and I will update it again over the weekend. If anyone has read any more books for their Challenge please let me know. In case anyone missed the earlier post the closing date for the Challenge is Sunday 2nd October. Well done to everyone, whether you completed the full challenge or not, and thanks for taking part and making this an enjoyable experience. Don't forget to let me know your star reads and whether or not you liked the 'book recommendation' part of the Challenge.
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Post by ginslinger on Oct 1, 2016 11:40:15 GMT 1
Well I read Racehorse Holiday which while it isn't the absolute best of JP-T is still very good and worth a smiley. It was interesting to get a different type of equestrianism -I don't know much about racing. I have also recently reread the off-challenge Prince among Ponies and it shares some similarities with that.
I have also read A place called Winter which also gets a smiley though I didn't enjoy it as much as the other Patrick Gale book I have read. It was based on his own family history and perhaps the need to respect personal and actual history constricted the writing a bit? The other novel was pretty much contemporary. I would certainly try a third to see. When I was younger I used to find that if I liked a book by an author I usually liked all their books and as I used to be a quick reader that was great since I could happily plough my way through. However I find quite often with modern authors that I love one book by them and others are a disappointment.
I really didn't get in to the Kate Moss and it won't get read now.. at least not by tomorrow. I did get about 70 pages into Marvellous Ways so I might try to finish that but don't hold your breath. And I think I can safely say that Gin and Murder was my favourite
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Post by tintin on Oct 1, 2016 22:03:51 GMT 1
I have finished "The Woman who wrote Black Beauty" - slow to get going, but enthralling so smiley face please
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Post by Claire on Oct 3, 2016 18:12:55 GMT 1
Well done for finishing the challenge Tintin. Did you have a favourite (star book)? And good work Ginslinger for catching up. If anyone else has finished any books over the weekend let me know as I will do the final update for the webpage either later tonight or tomorrow morning - so you may be able to just scrape in!
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Post by tintin on Oct 4, 2016 18:55:38 GMT 1
I wrote a great long post, but my P/C deleted it! Despite great competition (only the Magic Horsebox did n't work for me) star was "Silver Snaffles" a very special magical book.
The recommended section was superb and I thin we should keep it going
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Post by darkhorse on Oct 5, 2016 13:26:27 GMT 1
I managed to finish!! I did manage to read Pony Tales despite the technical problems of how it appeared in kindle. I was just about able to read it but anyone with bad eyesight would have struggled. They shuold get it sorted out because it was a good read. Could I have a smiley Claire if there's still time to add it. My star read would be The Horse on the Balcony by Jane Ayres. It's a toss up between that and The Team From low Moor but as I have read that one before I will give it to Jane Ayre's book.
I agree with Tintin and Susan. I enjoyed the recommendation part and would like to do it again.
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Post by garej on Oct 5, 2016 14:20:08 GMT 1
I didn't quite finish the challenge. I didn't even finish Racing Manhattan but I got the majority of the way through. But I am quite happy as I have managed more than previous years.
I echo what other people have said about the recommended part.
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