Le Voyage de Chichi Volume 1 by Hayao Miyazaki

"N'aie pas peur, je suis avec toi"

I absolutely love the animated movie Spirited Away  and Manga style artwork. When a close friend travelled to Japan he brought me back a few examples which were most appreciated. One was a Manga version of the movie, well the first volume of it in any case. He may have failed to notice that this copy was in French. As luck would have it, I speak French - happy days.

The artwork is glorious, just as you would expect from such a beautifully realised film. This first volume begins with the beginning of the movie and then ends where Chichi gets attacked by some pesky paper planes on her way to the bathhouse.

This is definitely a volume I will revisit and will certainly leave me with a smile on my face. A book is the best kind of souvenir, even if you weren't there for the holiday.

5 out of 5 parents that turn into pigs at a buffet is always embarrassing.

The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad

"It is the privilege of early youth to live in advance of its days in all the beautiful continuity of hope which knows no pauses and no introspection"

In the past I've read some other Conrad novels and been relatively unmoved. This one, however, really struck a chord. Perhaps it is my love of boats and the sea or the age I am now which grants the perspective of being stuck in a listless ocean where prospects are increasingly diminished. This is a tale about the harshness of maturity and the understanding that the world is not all hope and fairy tales. That tenacity can deliver survival and yet survival can be another form of punishment. With such economy of verbiage it delivers with clinical precision and I would happily re-read this. Something, that is not typical for me.

Turning 40 is a little like being stuck in a becalmed sea with a crew riddled with Malaria. Ahead lie treacherous waters where things will never be the same and one can only look back on the aspirations of youth with nostalgia for times and hopes past.

Every time a little ray of hope dares to raise its head in the novel, something darker lurks and yet certain members of the crew draw everything out of their compatriots in a desperate attempt to reach their destination and survival against the odds.

I could almost taste the salt in the air and the smell of desperation below deck.

5 out of 5 definitely my favourite Joseph Conrad tale.

Belgravia by Julian Fellowes

"She couldn't look at the baby for weeks, this boy who had killed her daughter"

In a post Downton Abbey  malaise, I was excited to procure a copy of its creator's latest novel and found myself a little wistful in the process. This is somewhat a pale imitation of the rather addictive television series which I may have binge watched at every opportunity.

The grand estates and questionable birth rights combined with troubled matrimonial match ups are all there, yet here it took me a good two hundred pages to even care about the characters. This novel lacked the juxtaposition of the upstairs/downstairs machinations that made the tv show such compulsive viewing.

Belgravia share's some magnificent society and grand surrounds but somewhere it lacks heart and enough exposition to hook the reader. It does so eventually, but only after perseverance.

It is the glimmers of what might have been that still guild the lily and are perhaps reflected in my estimation of it,

4 out of 5 scandals need more scandal, more servants and just a hint of more intrigue.

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

"The problem wasn't that he smelled of ferrets. Well that was a problem, but compared to the big  problem it wasn't much of one"

As always, the delightful Nicki has lent me another fabulous instalment of the Discworld canon and I couldn't be happier. This particular novel is a direct sequel to the vastly entertaining The Wee Free Men  and just as delightful.

In what can only be described as an annus horribilis (2016) - seriously readers, mind out of the gutter - that saw the passing of the wunderkind that was Mr Terry Pratchett, it is somewhat reassuring to note that there is still ample opportunity to bask in the brilliant worlds he created and escape from the horrors of the 24 hour news cycle to a place where hats are important and witches face all the usual problems of peer pressure.

Tiffany is such an engaging character, an outsider with talent that not everyone can appreciate. Transported from her island home (away from the sheep), she faces her biggest challenges in the form of a scary demon and kids her own age - not quite sure which is the more off-putting.

This is laugh out loud entertainment and if only there was more of that in the world. Thankfully I have many more volumes of Mr Pratchett's work to devour and I will do so with the delight they are due.

5 out of 5 times you should listen to your Granny.

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

"Get a cat to lick your finger some time and you will see exactly what I mean"

I was always an avid Roald Dahl fan as a child and thought I'd covered all his works, but this little adult story had not yet crossed my path. It is so delightfully dark and naughty. Mostly naughty, only really slightly risqué, but gorgeously suggestive. What is not to love here?

This is a tale of Spanish flies and sperm as a business proposition. It is tongue in cheek, so to speak, and hilarious. Dahl's descriptions of overly excited royalty and the odd musical or literary genius in full tumescence is ridiculously entertaining. While there are some quaint and somewhat old-fashioned gender roles at play, the general wickedness makes this as appealing as Belgian chocolate.

I particularly love the way literary giants are portrayed as sexually messed up but with hidden talents unleashed by the magic of the Sudanese Blister Beetle. The George Bernard Shaw denigration leaves one with an image that is particularly indelible. Similarly, who could resist a man like Puccini. Yasmin Homecomely is such an intriguing character, as her part in the business venture sets the wheels in motion regarding who is doing the using and who is being used. If you've read Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected,  you will know his ability to twist and turn a story in uncharted directions.

Who knew that a crushed up beetle could cause so much reckless abandon and where do I find some?

 5 out of 5 royal sofas have hidden contraptions.

One On One 101 True Encounters by Craig Brown

"Marcel Proust, once so social, is nowadays very picky about going out, preferring to stay in his bedroom"

I am a big fan of both Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales and was delighted to listen to their Sydney Writer's Festival chat Our Reading Year. Delighted because it lead me to this intriguing book and also because those two are just so entertaining - I'd love to have them around for an afternoon of discussion and cake ( sadly, gluten free in my case - but pavlova falls in that category so not all is lost).

Back to the book in question. This is a particularly entertaining and intriguing rendered account of some of history's stranger encounters. Consisting of 101 tales of encounters between famous historical figures, each figure then features in the next chapter such as Eli Wallach encountering Frank Sinatra, and then Frank Sinatra meeting Dominic Dunne in the next chapter. Each snippet is detailed in 101 words, with 101 meetings and the entire word count coming in at 1001 words - certainly an impressive feat.

The notion that truth is often stranger than fiction is certainly played out in this collection of stories, all elegantly foot noted with even more intriguing snippets of information. Who wouldn't want to enjoy the interactions of Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean or Harry Houdini and Theodore Roosevelt? This is the kind of fare that can serve as a real lifesaver on the dinner party conversation front, it is expertly executed and entertaining to boot. As Molly Meldrum would say "do yourself a favour" and check it out.

4 out of 5 because not all meetings are winners

Of Love and Evil by Anne Rice

"And I was so aware of the angels watching that I think I blushed"

Full confession, somewhat apt given the subject of seraphim, I bought this novel a heck of a long time ago, along with the first book in the series. I was suitably unimpressed with the first one and, as such, this has lingered in my to be read pile for what seems like eons. My memories of loving Rice's vampire series back in the nineties fuelled an optimism characterised by the purchase of two books at once.

As the year is slipping away at an alarming pace and I still have quite a way to go to meet my 120 books aim for the year, I thought perhaps I'd crack this one open. I know I read it, but retained very little in the way of impressions. Frankly this review is a bit of a bust and probably fairly useless in terms of guiding any reader's book choice.

1 out of 5 with zero interest.