BOOK UPDATE - INKPOT

16. FIRESONG by William Nicholson
The third instalment of the Wind of Fire Trilogy. I liked the developments in this book and he wrapped up the tale very neatly, however I didn’t enjoy it as much as Slaves of the Mastery. – 7/10 Not Bad

17. DEATH DU JOUR by Kathy Reichs
Why did I read this book? I don’t really know. It must be hard to be Dr Temperance Brennan, heroine of this book. Everywhere she goes skeletons leap out at her and people try to kill her. – 3/10 Almost Darren Shan

18. THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger
Ms Niffenegger’s debut novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife intrigued me because of the time travel, not the wife. However, it turns out the book is more about the latter than the former. The book is told through the point of view of Henry, a man who has a medical condition that makes him travel randomly through time and space, and Clare, Henry’s wife, who has loved him since he first appeared to her when she was six. The subject matter is very skilfully woven and the lives of these two people are written with depth and understanding. It is a compelling read, however I don’t particularly like any of the characters in the book, so not one that I would recommend.
7/10 Not Bad

19. DAYWATCH by Sergei Lukyanenko
I very much enjoyed NightWatch, the first in the trilogy of books about the forces of Light and Dark that make up the Moscow division of the two watches, but I was very disappointed in this offering. The Dark Others come across as selfish and the Light Others come across as fools and, apart from that, there is very little difference between them. The insight into the Russian way of thinking was interesting, but otherwise the book wasn’t great.
6/10 The Curate’s Egg

20. LUCINDA’S SECRET (THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES 3)
by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Another chapter in this very dull, but very short series of books. I only read this to boost my book count. It took less than 30 minutes to read and I borrowed it from the library, so I can’t really lose, can I?
1/10 Darren Shan-tastic

BREAKING NEWS....

Breaking news - Mungo's long awaited sequel to Leaf: in Search of Ramune is due to be launched on Easter Monday.

This site is anxiously waiting for an advance copy of Mango: The Unlucky Monkey, so that we can review and recommend it to you all!

Fans of Mungo will be terribly excited to hear the news - although we still await more details about when and where, there is sure to be a great crowd gathered for the book launch!

We'll be there too!

BOOK UPDATE - VALPOT

The Fight to Write Conference has prevented the update of the normal activities of this blog - namely objectives, targets and book updates. So as a break from all the photos, let's get up to date with Inkpot and Valpot's readings.

We'll start with Valpot today - haven't heard from her for a while.


Book 16: 7 Little Australians
Brought me back to my childhood as we were all glued to the tv serialisation. I enjoyed it, though it's quited dated, similar in some ways to L.M. Alcott (though lighter in tone), quite sweet and very sad.
Rating: Readable

Book 17: Pistols for Two
Lazing in bed one Sunday morning I picked up this collection of Georgette Heyer short stories, and enjoyed them - rather like a taster for her complete works, though not quite as satisfactory.
Rating: Not Bad

Book 18: Artemis Fowl & the Lost Colony
Like the others, enjoyable. And like the others.
Rating: Not Bad

Book 19: Allies of the night
I read this Darren Shan is the spirit of market research - why is he so successful? The librarian recommended - she liked a children's book that was literature! Badly written and incredibly dull.
Rating: Darren Shan-tastic

Book 20: Dracula
The original and still best. I didn't enjoy quite as much as the last time - I found Mina Harker quite painful, the men's adulation of her annoying, and some of the prose a little repetitive (maybe I felt the same last time?). Still a very enjoyable read & highly recommended.
Rating: I like it

Fight to Write - Mid-morning & early afternoon

After Marvin concluded his words on positising negatives, DNOTY '04/'05 took the floor.

This turned out to be I.M.M. Murphy (well, you probably knew that!).

She said a few words on the joy of being DNOTY.
After she spoke, the floor was thrown open to the audience for questions.

All the speakers were asked questions on their talks.

Finally, only slightly behind schedule, the conference attendees went for lunch.

They look like they needed a break from all that intellectual activity!

We will conclude the report on the afternoon session later on this week.

Hope you're enjoying it as much as the DNs did!

Fight to Write Conference - opening

The DN's inaugural conferene was opened by Marvin, chairtoy of that society.

The first talk of the day was given by I.M.M. Murphy, author. She spoke about using humour in writing, the Whys, Hows, Whens and Whats of it all.

She ended by presenting the audience with a clever mnemonic on her talk - I bet they'll remember it for a long time to come!

I.M.M. Murphy was followed by Valinora Troy. Ms Troy spoke about the joy of rewriting, what a pleasure it was to write again and again about the story and characters you love... (And she should know!)

A much needed coffee break was taken, allowing the attendees digest the vast amount of information they had received. After the break, one of the star guest speakers took the podium - Mungo, Disresponsible Nodpot of the year 2006, the current champion, and much loved author.

Mungo spoke on his well known theme - Writing is Easy.

The audience was enthralled, and listened with rapt attention! His words will remain with me for a long time - THINK, PLAN, WRITE, & FINISH UP your writing - he made the whole process feel so simple, seem so logical.

Mungo received thundering applause at the conclusion of his brilliantly inspiring talk.

After Mungo came Marvin, who spoke on turning negatives into positives.

It was a thoughtful and well-prepared speech, and the Nodpots appeared to be duly impressed. Overall his words left an extremely positive impression...

We will reveal more of the Conference later on this week, so watch this space!

Breaking News - Conference SUCCESS!

The inaugural Conference of the Disresponsible Nodpots has been judged an enormous success! Insiders tell of inspiring talks, fascinating discussions, fantastic motivation and great camaraderie!

The conference took place in Dublin on Saturday last (yesterday). Guests and speakers queued up alike to register at 10am.

Guest speaker & author I.M.M. Murphy queueing to register:

There was great excitement as conference attendees signed their names...

October, co-author of the long-expected mystery blog, and long time member of the DNs.

Rusty, Mascot of the Disresponsible Nodpots, registers

Valinora Troy, Guest Speaker, registers for the conference, while Leppie, an interested spectator, looks on

At 10.15, the call came for all the attendees to move into the conference centre itself. Then began the scramble for seats...

The good seats at the front were quickly filled...

Eventually everyone was seated. There was some chatter among the audience as friends waved to each other, and attendees introduced themselves to their neighbours...

You'd think these two would have met by now!

Marvin, Chairtoy of the Disresponsible Nodpots, and Parsley, Treasurer of same, took their positions at the podium, before the large crowd of Disresponsible Nodpots. Tottie, designated time-keeper for the event, took her place beside the giant clock, emblem of the DNs.

It was time to begin. This year the theme was the conference was "THE FIGHT TO WRITE".

Marvin calling the room to order...

We will continue in our next post with the events and gossip that formed the morning of the inaugural conference of the Disresponsible Nodpots!

Inkpot's recent book update

Inkpot sent us the following update a little while ago, so please note, she has since surpassed Book 20, and a further update on books read will be published in the near future.

11. The Windsinger by William Nicholson
Penned by the screenplay writer who wrote Gladiator and First Knight, among other things, this children’s fantasy bares more than a passing resemblance to Garth Nix’s Tower Series, but without as much magic as the Australian writer. An interesting book.
6/10 Curates Egg

12. Stranger to the Sun by Jeff Mariotte
An original novel based on the series Angel. This book is set somewhere in season 2 of the TV show, and has Angel, Wesley, Gunn and Cordy as the main characters. This book was competently written with an engaging story line and was very similar to watching an episode of Angel. Entertaining without straining the brain.
5/10 Readable

13. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
For the last two years of his life, Jean-Dominique Bauby, French editor of Elle magazine, suffered from Locked-in Syndrome, caused by a massive stroke. He was only 44. This book was dictated by him using his left eyelid. It is a series of moving, funny and thought provoking memories and vignettes from his life in hospital. A good read.
8/10 I like it

14. Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston
One of the great things about being a writer is that ANYTHING can happen in the fiction worlds that you create. With that in mind, I can’t help but wonder why Douglas Preston decided to confine himself to the boring, reined in world he presents in Tyrannosaur Canyon. Not worth the paper it is printed on.
3/10 Almost Darren Shan

15. The Slaves of the Mastery by William Nicholson
A sequel to The Windsinger, Nicholson’s characters really come into their own in this book and I found it a thoroughly engaging and unputdownable read. Can’t wait for the third instalment.
9/10 A good read