Mumsnet Moonwatch

Mumsnet Talk

"The country's most popular meeting point for parents" The Times
  Topics | Active | Search  
Waterstones Waterstone's Guide to Kids' Books
Drawing on the expertise and passion of our children's booksellers, we've produced this Guide to Kids' Books to help you discover the best of books for the child in your life. £3, or FREE to Cardholders (instore only). Waterstones

Mumsnet TV

Tip of the day

Don't get in a panic over Christmas. Keep a box and put a little in it every week - small gifts, wine, nibbles, napkins etc. This way, you'll be more relaxed and less skint in December! keriku

Quote of the week

CaptainNancy's (admirably succinct) family rules: "Don't be a dingbat/duffer. Keep calm and carry on. Dream big. Shut up and get on with it."

Recipe of the week

Carmenere's cinder toffee: sweet, sticky, made-in-five-minutes toffee squares that'll spark off a few 'yums' among the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of your little fireworks-watchers.

Follow mumsnet on...

TwitterFacebookYoutube

Mumsnet Talk


Start new thread within this topic | Watch this thread | Flip this thread |
Add a message

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Should I persevere?

(19 Posts)
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Wed 15-Jul-09 20:45:35
Twilight was very very easy to read. I am also reading The Historian at the moment - and have been for a few weeks. It is a rare book for me in that i haven't given it up and want to read more and yet i'm not getting that feeling of wanting to read it each night. Usually when i read a book that i like i really look forward to getting back to it. Want to read it though as i am not bored as such but it is just very slow going.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Tue 23-Jun-09 10:22:42
I loved this book, i was sorry to finish it. I did find it a bit slow and difficult to follow at first, but i actually thought it was really well written and by the end quite enjoyed the tooing and froing of it.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 22-Jun-09 23:02:00
Oh, yes, I rather liked that one. Haven't read Twilight so can't advise on that.

Maybe give it another couple of chapters and then ditch it if it's still not doing it for you?
I thought it was really good
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 22-Jun-09 22:37:31
It took a long time for me to get into this but it turned out to be fantastic and a wonderful retalling of the Dracula legends, it reallyis worth it, eventually!
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 21:17:12
Glad some people thought it was a worthwhile read, but I agree with Kerala - for me it was a waste of a lot of precious reading time. I struggled through it as it was a book club choice, but it lost me....overwritten and far too long. You might want to read some of the 1 and 2-star reviews on Amazon for entertainment.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 20:46:09
Give up. It only gets worse. After about two thirds I lost the will to live.
I have just read my third Jasper FFFFFFFFFFF
and have come to the conclusion that he drives me insane and I can't be bothered to read any more!
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 20:42:54
i tried and tried to get into this but i gave up. i just couldnt get into it at all! wonder if i should give it another whirl on the train....? DH just said he thought it was brilliant.

im half way thru some jasper ffords, Lost in a good book! far more entertaining!
Loved it,as is a friend of mine who is currently reading it.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 20:30:52
Thanks for your replies. I think based on your reviews I'll give it another couple of days and see how it shapes up. I must admit I'm not that fussed by the travel diary style, and the narrater says how she is frustrated by her father stopping his recollection of the vampire tale; not half as frustrated as me! I want to know the bits about the book and Professor Rossi, but it keeps being interrupted by the present day narration. I think that's the main problem I have with it. However, I shall read a bit more and see where it goes.
Yes I second 'academic vampirism'!

I found it interesting but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it that much, and laboured through parts of it. I know a few people who haven't bothered fnishing it. It does indeed meander.
I loved it. 'Twilight' is pants!
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 17:38:22
Lol Deathworm - academic vampirism sums it up!

I actually found it very, very creepy. It is not normally my sort of book at all but I absolutely gripped.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 17:30:32
I really liked it too - worth it IMO
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 17:30:14
Is this the Dracula story? I liked it. I thought that it was about as good a re-telling of the story as could be done. But it wasn;t really enjoyable in terms of building excitingly to a dramatic conclusion. I enjoyed it for its meander through lots of European capital cities, etc. It is practically a travelogue. And I enjoyed it for some of the characters, like the very lovely cultured and hospitable Turkish professor. It was kind of scholarly and informed. The conclusion was good, compelling, but not exciting. A very strange sort of book -- the genre should be called something like 'librarian horror' or 'academic vampirism'.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 17:27:56
Oh I really liked it! Do persevere, it is a good book, far better than Twilight imo.
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 17:21:18
I can only add that I persisted a few chapters further and could not continue - the premise was great but it just did not grip me in any way and I found the writing style a bit tortuous(and I hate giving up on books but life is too short).
Add message | Report | Contact poster By Mon 15-Jun-09 15:16:18
I'm only a couple of chapters into this, and very little seems to be happening. I don't get much time to read (do any of us?!)and it's just not gripping me so far. so I don't know whether to just abandon it, or persevere?

The thing is, I bought Twilight in a charity shop last week, and I'm itching to read that!

Which vampires are more entertaining?!
Add your message here
Message
Nickname:
Password:
To post a message you need a valid mumsnet nickname and password. If you have forgotten your nickname, click here for a reminder. If you are not yet a member of mumsnet, you can join here.

Emphasis: To bold a word, surround it with asterisks, so *hello* will display hello. For underline use _ , so _hello_ gives hello. For italics use ^, so ^hello^ gives hello. To strike out a word, surround it with two hyphens either side, so --dog-- gives dog

Links and smileys: To insert a smiley face,  , type [smile] or :)
For a big grin,  , type [grin] or :o
For a wink,  , type [wink]
For a shocked face,  , type [shock]
For an angry face,  , type [angry]
For an embarrassed face,  , type [blush]
For a sad face,  , type [sad] or :(
For an envious face,  , type [envy]
For a sceptical face,  , type [hmm]
For a I have nothing to say on this matter face,  , type [biscuit]

Links The simplest way to insert a link is to enter the link itself, surrounded by [[ and ]]. So if you type [[www.mumsnet.com]], the link will display as http://www.mumsnet.com. If you want your link to display text other than the web address itself, leave a space after the address then add the text before the ]]. So "Look at [[www.mumsnet.com this page]]", would display "Look at this page".
Shortcuts