tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post1380971475109697115..comments2023-11-01T00:38:49.400+11:00Comments on Ampersand Duck: There's something about MaryAmpersand Duckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-77480695711423616512010-07-14T20:52:22.100+10:002010-07-14T20:52:22.100+10:00I read this book and hated it. In fact it was absu...I read this book and hated it. In fact it was absurd and ridiculous. And the premise was good...Mary writing a book, and actually being independent at the end?...yeah could have been good. <br />But, I did enjoy CMc's Morgan's Run. (Is it safe to say that here?)Embejohttp://www.embejoetc.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-79877607238939452372008-11-02T19:44:00.000+11:002008-11-02T19:44:00.000+11:00Darling!Read Thornbirds way back when and what can...Darling!<BR/><BR/>Read Thornbirds way back when and what can I tell ya...<BR/><BR/>You know - whatsername doing the priest - smutlit masquerading as clever dick (Bryce is just as bad.) The aspirant thinking quiff's Barbara Cartland, maybe. <BR/><BR/>Someone who shall remain nameless pressed the Roman tome on me just this last summer, insisting I'd enjoy it. Jaysus h christ - too much research, Colleen, makes for b-b-boring as b-b-batshit. Omigod, beyond dreary.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the warning apropos 'Colleen does Jane' - I will soooo steer clear of that train wreck...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06526603763759262668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-13217111580804849352008-11-02T08:57:00.000+11:002008-11-02T08:57:00.000+11:00Yeah, but I've been accused of that for many reaso...Yeah, but I've been accused of that for many reasons: I don't like Big Brother, Idol, sport in general, commercial tv... <BR/><BR/>But I have read all her other books with a modicum of enjoyment, I read (other people's copies of) New Idea, Woman's Day and Who mag with glee, and I listen to all sorts of 'bad' music (according to those who make such judgements), so go figure.<BR/><BR/>Wow, she's crossing cultures. Now that IS new for her.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-63057964595285220512008-11-02T08:31:00.000+11:002008-11-02T08:31:00.000+11:00You realise don't you, if some CmcC fan comes acro...You realise don't you, if some CmcC fan comes across this blog, you'll be accused of being elitist(tm)?<BR/><BR/>(Word verification = hunab: the name of the long-suffering Iranian gel in CmcC's upcoming "Forbidden Love"-style epic. Well, she did say she wanted to write one of everything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-12138518000863219562008-10-31T19:23:00.000+11:002008-10-31T19:23:00.000+11:00Thanks for the offer Duck. I'm not sure I really ...Thanks for the offer Duck. I'm not sure I really want to read this. So often these things seem like a good idea, but then....and besides thanks to Tim I'm never going to be able to think of this book without getting it all confused with the purpleblog...lucy tartanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09244574932248425378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-12564047560336888912008-10-31T15:41:00.000+11:002008-10-31T15:41:00.000+11:00See, I just assumed that from the beginning and ha...See, I just assumed that from the beginning and have not wasted one hour of my life reading her books.<BR/><BR/>*smiles smugly at Fyodor*<BR/><BR/>doorbitch:obityZoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01546885088503890394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-19350557331423133682008-10-31T12:45:00.000+11:002008-10-31T12:45:00.000+11:00And how. It's taken me twenty years to *really* un...And how. It's taken me twenty years to *really* understand what a self-important and low-reaching woman she is.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-87519206065751405802008-10-31T10:05:00.000+11:002008-10-31T10:05:00.000+11:00*stands, applauds*Everything I've heard about this...*stands, applauds*<BR/><BR/>Everything I've heard about this book has confirmed my worst prejudices about McCulloch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-82414009956597095082008-10-30T23:03:00.000+11:002008-10-30T23:03:00.000+11:00You can probably sell it on Ebay for as much as yo...You can probably sell it on Ebay for as much as you bought it for - but only while it is very new.<BR/><BR/>That would be a bonus for having finished it so quickly too.<BR/><BR/>I went to a dinner where Colleen McC spoke and she was great. She pretty much said she wants to write one of everything (mystery/romance etc etc).<BR/><BR/>The Rome novels were ordinary though - so repetitive. She handwrites every word apparently. <BR/><BR/>And yeah - smaller books - the mega bricks are way to heavy to read in the bath or in bed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-39775104190692554832008-10-30T17:34:00.000+11:002008-10-30T17:34:00.000+11:00Hmmm. I try to not read any Jane Austen sequels th...Hmmm. I try to not read any Jane Austen sequels that have actually been printed as books-on-paper after being nastily shocked by an Emma Tennant version as quite a young person. <BR/><BR/>If you stick to the online fan fiction you get two advantages:<BR/>writers who really like Jane Austen (and who are not trying to make a buck), and<BR/>no rainforests die (but lots of petro-chemical products and carbon emissions). <BR/><BR/>recentsm - is it a tendency to elevate the recent to a religion, or re-centing things for philosophical reasons?Penthehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11200896933898936176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-64935899204102409272008-10-30T15:56:00.000+11:002008-10-30T15:56:00.000+11:00Oh &>, I'm sad you wasted so much time ...Oh &>, I'm sad you wasted so much time on this travesty. I read a review the other week and told everyone who might think I'd enjoy it not to give it to me for Christmas. <BR/><BR/>I completely understand your inability not to finish it too. I was suckered in the same way by her great men of Rome doorstoppers where she slavishly followed the historical sources of one of the best documented periods in Ancient History and only made up really BORING things. Those books were dreadful and I just get so cross when people who get listened to (like Bob Carr) say they're fabulous.<BR/><BR/>Oh and I'm a little bit protective of the least appreciated Bennet lass. I'd envisaged her having a few years as the only one left at home then a nice quiet life married to a country parson.Mary Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209981534012481639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-30378649728166927222008-10-30T14:17:00.000+11:002008-10-30T14:17:00.000+11:00"derfu"# Oh? I thought it was a reagion in west af..."derfu"<BR/># Oh? I thought it was a reagion in west africa that no-one cared about?<BR/><BR/>re: thickness of books.<BR/>The thickness tests is one of the best tests ever to a worth of book.<BR/>The vast number of important books ie ones ABOUT something that also added to world goodness are thin. Sometimes extremely so.harryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10218346748576276702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-41317158432949517882008-10-30T13:15:00.000+11:002008-10-30T13:15:00.000+11:00No, I dare say she hasn't bothered reading the...No, I dare say she hasn't bothered reading the other Austen novels, since P&P was such a disappointment to her. <BR/><BR/>I do think you should force yourself to read it, though, because there is much I have omitted to say, and the plot does get absolutely fantastical in places -- including Mary's brush with a religious cult.<BR/><BR/>Would you like me to donate this volume to your Austen fan-fic collection? I'd feel happier donating to a good cause. I have a feeling that this one would rank far lower than the one about Darcy's dog.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-23119682357366866662008-10-30T13:00:00.000+11:002008-10-30T13:00:00.000+11:00Ducks, thanks for reading this so I don't have to!...Ducks, thanks for reading this so I don't have to! Just one question, though; does CM give any hint that in carrying on about disfiguring acne scars and overlapping teeth she sounds exactly like Sir Walter Elliot on his Golwand's Lotion kick?<BR/><BR/>(Doorbitch says derfu, which is the name of the cancer-curing rainforest bug rendered extinct by over-inflated HB books...)lucy tartanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09244574932248425378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-30681373009120920152008-10-30T12:03:00.000+11:002008-10-30T12:03:00.000+11:00Oh all right. My conscience has got the better of ...Oh all right. My conscience has got the better of me. <BR/><BR/>Larvatus Prodeo is an Interesting and Worthwhile Political Blog, with Stimulating and Informed Commentary on Many Important Matters in the World Today, and is in Not Comparable to Colleen McCullough.TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-85378580118533377232008-10-30T11:55:00.000+11:002008-10-30T11:55:00.000+11:00Purple cover? Are you sure it isn't a hardback ver...Purple cover? Are you sure it isn't a hardback version of Larvatus Prodeo?TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-12352328772239477382008-10-30T09:09:00.000+11:002008-10-30T09:09:00.000+11:00purple eyes and ginger hair just aren't possible b...purple eyes and ginger hair just aren't possible biologically are they?naomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03714706512920191044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-5652469190573452082008-10-30T03:18:00.000+11:002008-10-30T03:18:00.000+11:00Okay, it sounds terrible. But have you tried Lind...Okay, it sounds terrible. But have you tried Linda Berdoll's _Darcy Takes a Wife_? The (ahem) author has never read Austen--she was inspired by the BBC miniseries. (And I know Colin Firth is a hunk, but really...)<BR/><BR/>The only way I've gotten halfway through is to count the ridiculous interjections of 'hence' and 'betwixt' in her otherwise crappy modern text. And it's taken me a year to get to p. 194. <BR/><BR/>Just a snippet to make you giggle: "In light of having no clue why either of the ladies was incited to such merriment by her introduction, Elizabeth took mental inventory of any possible indiscretion of her costume. All accoutrements seemed in order. Hence, she prepared an insincere apology to excuse herself from such discourteous company."<BR/><BR/>At least there isn't such big leading between the lines--just obscenely bloated text (465 pages of it)!!may day studiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09890123889043102488noreply@blogger.com