Monday 23 January 2012

Go on, read something different today!



There's always that moment of trepidation when you hear that one of your favourite books has been turned into a film or TV production, isn't there? You think 'please don't spoil it for me!' And that was just how I felt when I heard about the BBC adaptation of 'Birdsong' - how to capture that unbelievable yearning erotica of the love story as well as the total gut-wrenching horror of the World War I trenches. But on the strength of last night's episode at least, justice has been fully done.
In truth I probably would never have chosen to read 'Birdsong' thinking it wasn't really 'my kind of thing'. It was a Christmas present, and I think it's great when people say 'I chose this for your Fiona because I know you'll really enjoy it'. I love having my eyes opened up to new things. As I say, 'Birdsong' is now one of my favourite novels and I have recommended it to so many other people.
A very good friend recently recommended the 'Shardlake' series of books by C J Sansom, and again I didn't think they would be my kind of thing at all. But I find myself lost in a world of intrigue in the time of King Henry VIII; the stench and the strife of every day life, the power struggles of the courts and the political and religious intrigue. The books have opened my eyes to a period of history about which I was shockingly ignorant. And they're a mighty find read on a cold winter's night!
So go on, let someone recommend a book which you'd never have chosen yourself, you never know where it can take you!

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