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Post by Abby on Jan 8, 2007 21:37:05 GMT
Goodnight Claire. I've gotta get going myself. Time to go to work. Catch ya's later
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Post by claire on Jan 8, 2007 21:38:06 GMT
see ya Abby
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Post by megan on Jan 8, 2007 21:43:30 GMT
Good night from me too. Thanks for the chat! Good luck at work Abby, and for those us in the Northern Hemisphere - sleep well! xx
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Post by Oonagh on Jan 8, 2007 21:45:32 GMT
good night!! sorry girls i wasnt here sooner
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Post by megan on Jan 9, 2007 18:43:25 GMT
We understand Oonagh! Do you have anymore thoughts on the book?
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Post by Oonagh on Jan 9, 2007 22:26:58 GMT
i liked it but the concept of marriage was taken very lightly in the book!! i think it s a huge step for people and should not be undertaking until all parties love each other at least!! It was a lovely little book!! I loved it. It was different and it was a page turner!!
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Post by Marisa on Jan 9, 2007 23:40:17 GMT
Megan , I just love your keen observation about typical chick lit men. How true! They do seem to be either bastards or angels!!
I thik even the most perfect man should have a few faults to make him more real. Then again I suppose chick lit is a bit like romantic films - us girls go to see them knowing there'll be a happy ending. It makes you wonder why men have to be dragged along to sit through them and prefer thrillers or war films with lots of bloodshed. ..
It'd make you think, huh?
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Post by Oonagh on Jan 10, 2007 8:59:41 GMT
you after giving me some food for thought Marisa. So true
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Post by megan on Jan 10, 2007 10:32:08 GMT
Hi Marisa, I agree chick lit novels are very much like romantic films, however I tend to demand less from a film than from a book. When I go to the movies I turn my brain off and let the story wash over me. I usually love the most corny romantic movies that the critiques give one star in the reviews. However, when I'm reading a book, perhaps because I have to put in more effort than I do with a film, I expect more from it. I can't forgive a neat tidy ending where absolutely everything is perfect, the way I do in a film. Perhaps I have seen so many American movies (which are pretty much the same thing packaged over and over) I have lost my ability to be critical of them. I remember watching Sommersbye and being absolutely outraged at the end when the hero died. I felt cheated of my money!! American romance movies are not supposed to end like that! Had that been a book I would probably have thought - hey what a fantastic unexpected ending. After seeing the film I found out that Sommersbye was a remake of a French film - hence the dark ending. If I watched more European films I suppose I would learn to demand more from the American Rom Coms but the idea depresses me and makes me feel dreary. I like to go to the movies to see pretty clothes and people, beautiful scenery and to weep buckets at fabulous love stories.
I practically never drag my man along to a rom com movie. No way! I love going on my own or with a really good girl friend. Pure heaven!
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Post by claire on Jan 10, 2007 10:45:37 GMT
oh Megan I love Sommersbye
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Post by megan on Jan 10, 2007 10:52:28 GMT
I love it too, Claire, but isn't the ending tragic? I was inconsolable.
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Post by claire on Jan 10, 2007 10:58:06 GMT
that is the one with Richard Gere and........arggg Oonagh moment can't think of her name but I can see her so clearly
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Post by claire on Jan 10, 2007 10:59:38 GMT
JODIE FOSTER
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Post by Oonagh on Jan 10, 2007 11:05:01 GMT
excuse your check an Oonagh moment!!!! your just showing your age again Claire. lol
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Post by claire on Jan 10, 2007 11:08:00 GMT
ha di ha
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Post by jofromoz on Jan 14, 2007 6:15:51 GMT
wasn't that Mel Gibson and Jody Foster??
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Post by megan on Jan 14, 2007 11:19:44 GMT
It was definitely Richard Gere, Jo. He was brilliant in it.
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Post by jofromoz on Mar 7, 2007 9:42:45 GMT
Just been reading this post, and although I haven't read the book (am now going to look for it I think), I can tell you Oons there are near-perfect guys out there if you are willing to weed thru the crud to get to them!! My first husband was the cad of all cads, but my second is the most thoughtful, caring, loving and with it guy I have ever met. He says the right things at the right time, and does thoughtful little things like taking the garbage out without being asked etc, and on his way back in picking a rose from the garden to present me with. He seems to know instinctively when we need to have that space for an afternoon and goes off to do his own thing happily, then comes back to cook dinner or suggest we go out somewhere. I believe I have struck it very lucky. Now he's on one side of the country and I'm here, I miss him terribly, but he still does lovely things, even if it's just sending a text in the morning to say hi, or to ring me at work when he knows I'm on nights, so he won't wake me during the day with the phone ringing! We love to do things for each other as we know the other always gets a kick out of it, no matter how small the gesture. I think I put up with what I thought was my lot in the first marriage as I had been raised to believe you married once and for life...but after about the 15th affair (on his part) the humiliation and hurt was too much to keep 'putting up with'. No, we all deserve to have the best, and even then we owe it to our chosen partner to put in 110% effort to make it even better than it already is. So Oons, you will find a great guy one day...just keep looking and don't settle for second best because you deserve nothing less than the best!
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Post by megan on Mar 7, 2007 10:16:53 GMT
What a great post, Jo. I am so glad that you are so very happy with your second husband. He sounds lovely!
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Post by claire on Mar 7, 2007 10:23:33 GMT
that was lovely to read Jo, I'm so happy for you too
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Post by nicc on Mar 7, 2007 10:36:23 GMT
your hubby sounds devine Jo. hope it is not too much longer until you sell your house and can be with him again.
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Post by Oonagh on Mar 7, 2007 12:13:39 GMT
Ah that s a lovely message. thanks Jo. xx Im delighted to know my prince charmning is out there some where.
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Post by megan on Mar 7, 2007 16:21:35 GMT
He will be a lucky man, Oonagh
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Post by Oonagh on Mar 7, 2007 23:32:45 GMT
ah thats lovely!!! thanks megan.xx
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Post by Shirley on Nov 21, 2007 17:32:41 GMT
I just finished this book last night. Loved the style of writing, especially as I read a book by Morag Prunty before and really disliked it - it was one of the few books I never finished, actually - but the style of this book was totally different. I can really see why she reinvented herself. As for the story itself - well, I didn't know whether I felt sorry for both Bernadine and Tressa, or whether I wanted to give both of them a good slap. I could empathise with Bernadine more, but they both annoyed me with the way they lived their lives thinking the grass was greener instead of appreciating what they had. At least with Bernadine, we could see why she went into her marriage with such negativity, but Tressa was in a different situation and was just chasing dreams and fantasies in my opinion. She was very lucky to have someone who was willing to put up with her behaviour. I also didn't buy her idea of love at the end of the book - I wasn't convinced that she wouldn't just get bored again in the future. I really don't believe that anyone who is truly in love with someone would have to go through so much to prove it to themselves - love shouldn't have to be such hard work in the way that it was for her. You shouldn't have to have several random snogs in order to prove it to yourself that your partner is the right person for you. I felt like Tressa was going through a mid-life crisis after twenty years of marriage instead of acting like a newlywed. I really had very little sympathy for her at all. Maybe women are looking for too much out of marriage now, but isn't it better to be on your own than be with someone and not only make yourself miserable, but make them miserable too? Dan was a saint to put up with Tressa! I do agree that you should put your expectations of what the perfect man constitutes aside at a certain time in your life and become more open-minded, but I really don't think you should marry someone just because they tick all the right boxes. What else do I have to say about the book....well, I loved the descriptions of Dan's family, and thought it was so poignant when Tressa realised that his mother had been smiling at her, but she hadn't realised it because of his mother's stroke. I also loved the fact that his mother saw right through Tressa and made it known to her that she knew Tressa didn't love her son (before they had the bake-off and warmed a bit to each other, LOL!). I thought Tressa was a really well thought-out character, despite the fact that I didn't like her. All of the characters were very convincing. I really liked how Bernadine walked away from Michael Tuffy at the end of the book and pretended she remembered nothing about their time together, just for the sake of her husband, showing that she did love him in her own way. The recipe concept was great, but it did start to become a bit superflous to the storyline to me after a while, which I thought was a good thing - sometimes, a book has a "gimmicky" concept that makes it very sellable, but the gimmick starts to grate after a while, and you don't see much substance. With this book, the concept just took a secondary place for me, as I just wanted to see what happened to the characters while still appreciating the link between the concept and the storyline. That's about it really!
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Post by megan on Nov 21, 2007 21:27:04 GMT
Great review. Thanks for letting us know your thoughts, Shirley. I think the take on marriage in this novel makes for great debate.
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Post by Shirley on Nov 21, 2007 22:08:00 GMT
It does indeed! And I would love to read something else by Morag/Kate in this new style - interesting issues written about in a lyrical way.
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Post by megan on Nov 22, 2007 11:01:21 GMT
She has another book out under the name of Kate Kerrigan. I can't remember the name of it but I saw it in the shops recently. I can't keep up with all the books I want to read. I become feverish at just the thought of them!
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Post by Mary on Nov 22, 2007 13:15:37 GMT
The Miracle of Grace is the title, it's good but not as magical as Recipes of a .... (in my humble opinion!)
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Post by megan on Nov 22, 2007 13:51:45 GMT
Thanks, Mary.
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