Saturday 16 November 2013

Read in 2013 - 45: Village Fortunes [and asking my fellow bloggers for help]

For some strange reason, I can not see the search option for my own blog; it used to be visible in the top left corner, but has disappeared. Of course I have checked my blog settings and layout, and it should be there; I haven't yet figured out how to fix this. Also, I can not see search boxes on other people's blogs, which has lead me to contact some of you about a book review I have read on one of your blogs but can't remember which one.

Does anyone else have or had this problem, and has any idea for me how to remedy it? I am using Mozilla's Firefox as a browser.


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Now to the book review: "Village Fortunes" is the 17th installment of the Turnham Malpas series by Rebecca Shaw. Some years ago, my mother-in-law sent me the first three, and then kept sending them in small doses, until I was hooked and wanted to know what was happening in the village and to its inhabitants. 
(You can find my review for book # 16 here.) 


Some of you will probably shake your heads at my sometimes very simple literary taste, because not even the author's best friend could attribute a really good writing style to her. Usually, I appreciate books when the language is elegant without being too "artsy" in a forced manner. Well, the Turnham Malpas series is certainly neither elegant nor artsy - just cosy village stories that make you unwind when your brain has been very busy all day long with matters as dry as writing a manual for an insurance company's automatic document archivation system (one of my current projects).
An example of the sometimes "wooden" style (which, in my opinion, could have been edited to improve):
They spent a stormy Saturday, kind of speaking but not speaking all day, and Marie was glad when it was half past nine and she heard Barry tap softly on the back door. That was significant in itself coming to the back door as everyone used the front door because that was the easiest, seeing the way round the house was built.
That second sentence is, in my opinion, a misconstruction. It sounds like something a 6th-former would write. Or am I too picky?

In this book, Turnham Malpas' "big house" is inhabited by the young heir, his wife and their two babies. The heir's brother, who leads a hotel business in Brazil, comes visiting, and that visit is the cause for most of the drama in the story.

Also, a couple of former residents return to the village after a stint in prison, and opinions vary in the village as to whether that was a good idea or not. While generally, the couple are welcomed with open arms, there are still some who think that the prison sentence was deserved, and are quick to come to conclusions when the lead from the church roof is stolen.

The village shop owner's youngest daughter is torn between wanting to stay in the village and work at the shop and following her older siblings to university. Also, a secret love interest complicates matters, and eventually nearly puts her life in danger.

Another village character wants to find his now grown-up sons that were taken away by his ex-wife when they were little; after a life dedicated to business, he now feels he wants a proper family.

All these tales are intertwined because the characters know each other and live in the same village. There are many familiar faces, and a few new ones. It is a bit embarrassing, but I have to admit I can not remember the returning couple from previous books; I know I have read them all, but probably was not terribly interested in them the first time they appeared on the scene.

I must also admit that I enjoyed this book more than I remember having enjoyed the previous one. Be it that I was in the right mood, or that the writing was slightly better this time, I don't know. One thing I do know for sure, though: I will also make sure to get # 18.

26 comments:

  1. Hallo Meike,
    hast Du im Firefox bewusst blogger.com gesperrt?
    Wenn Du im Firefox about:config in die Adresszeile eingibst und den Sicherheitshinweis bestätigst, dann kannst Du oben in der Suche mal nach blogger.com suchen und schauen, ob irgendeine Einstellung die Header-Zeile unterdrückt.
    Hast Du das gleiche Problem im IE?
    Viele Grüße
    Peter Oe.

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    1. Hallo Peter,
      vielen Dank für die superschnelle Antwort! Bewusst habe ich blogger.com natürlich nicht gesperrt (das wäre ja kontraproduktiv). Aber in der Tat taucht blogger.com in der Liste auf. Dahinter steht "blogger.com;1;ALLOW;WINDOWS,TABS,ALERTS;0|librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.de;1;ALLOW;WINDOWS,TABS,LINKS,ALERTS;" und noch ein paar andere Sachen, die sich dann auf andere Blogs beziehen.
      Tatsächlich ist im IE die Suchoption sichtbar. Was kann ich jetzt tun, um sie auch in FF wieder zu kriegen?
      Viele Grüße
      Meike

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    2. Hallo Meike,
      wenn Du die Suchleiste im IE siehst, dann ist es nicht die Firewall, die sie wegblockt. Kopiere die Zeile aus der FF-Konfiguration in einen Editor (damit Du sie ggf. später wieder reinkopieren kannst) und lösche sie dann im about:config (rücksetzen heißt das Stichwort, löschen geht nicht).
      FF schließen und neu öffnen.
      Ist die Leiste dann da? Geht andere Funktionalität dadurch verloren?
      Ich fürchte, es wird ein bisschen "Pfrimelarbeit" werden...
      Schönen Sonntag!
      Peter

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    3. Hallo Peter,
      leider hat das Zurücksetzen nichts geholfen. Für den Moment werde ich es jetzt wohl einfach so machen, dass ich IE verwende, wenn ich in einem (meinem oder einem anderen) Blog etwas suchen möchte, und für den "Hausgebrauch" weiter bei FF bleibe.
      Mein Sonntag war in der Tat sehr schön - Gänse-Essen bei meinen Eltern, sooo lecker! Dir und Deiner Familie geht es hoffentlich auch gut.
      Liebe Grüße
      Meike

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  2. I'll come back and read about the book later, but I can see and use your search button on Safari, Firefox, and Chrome!!! It troubles me that you can't see mine, but maybe that is the same reason you can't see your own. Can you see it on blogs other than mine??

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    1. Nan, I can't see the seach buttons on anyone's blog when I use Firefox. As soon as I look at the same blogs (including my own) in IE, I can see them. Peter (the "Anonymous" commenter above) has already told me what I can try to fix it. I'll do that in a minute, see whether it helps.

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  3. Though I usually read more challenging books, I love this series and have read all but the last ibe,

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    1. Hello Mac'n Janet, thank you for taking the time and leave a comment here! Yes, I guess people either love this series or they can't stand this kind of book, there's probably not much in between.

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  4. I'm afraid I can't help,with the technical problem, but I do so agree about the use of language. If the language makes you stop and think 'hang on a minute' , as this does, then it's getting in the way of the story. Language is there to help the story come to life, not to hinder it.

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    1. You're right, that kind of sentence tends to interrupt the flow for me when I am reading. Which has never been the case with any of your books, Frances!

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  5. I enjoy this series too - I don't think we should have to excuse our enjoyment of quiet and soothing books. Life is quite demanding enough, without always having to read demanding books too! But I quite agree about that sentence, it is dreadful and her editor should have said something...

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    1. Good job it is one of very few examples of really messed up sentences in this book. Still, it shouldn't have escaped the editor's attention.

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  6. Hi, Meike, don't sell yourself short! There is absolutely nothing wrong with reading cosy stuff after a hard day. Even the most determined of us don't want to read heavy political or philosophical tracts ALL the time. I like reading cosies, and may see if I can find Malpas' books over here. BTW, one of my favourite cosy writers is the British mystery writer Hazel Holt, whose Mrs. Malory series is up to about 11 or 12 volumes now. I always feel as if her books are a letter from home. Have a good weekend. xoxo

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    1. Thank oyu, my weekend was indeed very good!
      I don't think I have come across Hazel Holt's books myself yet, but I seem to remember having read about them on someone else's books (was it Nan?), and they sound just like something I'd enjoy, too.

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  7. I can't see any search box on your blog either. I think this must be another problem with flaky old Blogger, something I haven't encountered (yet). It's remarkable how they went to all the trouble of redesigning it and it is just so bad. I can't change the colours on my blog.

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    1. Yes, Jenny, I've seen what you wrote on your blog about not being able to change the colours. I have no idea how long my search box has been missing, but I guess I'll be able to fix it with what Peter told me (in the "Anonymous" comment).

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  8. I can't see the search box (I'm using Firefox version 25.0) I also checked yours in Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome (Version 31.0.1650.57 m) and there is still no search box - and don't all those version numbers tell you just about everything.

    I got fed up with blogger's search a long time ago. I now use http://www.postvorta.co.uk/
    (It was created by my son-in-law, Mark, so if you ever have any problems he's easy to contact.!)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you for telling me about postvorta, John! If I can't fix the problem with what Peter in the "Anonymous" comment advised me to do, I'll try that.
      I can see my search box when I open my blog in IE, just not int in FF.

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  9. I've had a book on my shelves for years, a fat paperback with three novels by Shaw which I've yet to read. Perhaps I should force myself to read and see if I want to keep it or donate them. I have arthritis in my hands and this book is awkward to handle. But you've intrigued me. I bought it originally because it was on sale and I like most books set in English villages.

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    1. I'd like to know whether you will "get into" the Turnham Malpas books or not, Kristi.
      Thinking back to the first two or three I read, I remember quite distinctly that it were mainly two characters (none of which could be described as "main characters") who interested me most, and I wanted to know what else was going to happen in their lives.

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  10. Another series and author I never heard of... I think I'm into enough other serial kind of books (and TV series) already. The writing style in that quote does not impress, either :) However, one can enjoy books on a wide variety of levels. Some because of the language, some because they're a challenge, others because they're just an easy and relaxing read. And in certain moods it's good to come back to characters and environments you already know - just as it is in real life!
    Sorry about your browser problems. I use Firefox as well but I can see the search box both on your blog and on others.

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    1. It has probably to do with the adblock settings. I have tried to fix it, following Peter's advice (the "anonymous" commenter), but so far, that has not made a difference. For now, I'll leave it as it is and will switch to IE if I need the search option for a blog.

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  11. Actually I never noticed the search button, and I have not used it. I will go and check now. I see it on your blog though.

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    1. I've used it many, many times, since I often cross-reference to older posts of mine.
      Also, on other people's blogs it has been useful when I knew they had written about a certain book I was interested in, and wanted to re-read their review.
      Thank you for letting me know you can see the search button on my blog.

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  12. I'm catching up with blog reading this morning. I can see your search box in Firefox (version 26) if you are referring to the Blogger search in the top left corner of the dashboard bar. There is also a gadget you can use via layout in the same way that you have added the 'Follow by email' gadget. As this is an old post you may have sorted the problem by now. Doubtless I'll soon know. I would commend Postvorta though as mentioned by CJ.

    On the subject of the book I think there is always a time for the light reading as well as the 'heavier' stuff although, as everyone seems to agree, poor language can get in the way.

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    1. Thank you for your advice, Graham!
      For now, I simply use IE when I need the blogger search bar (for my own or someone else's blog). Maybe during the Christmas holidays I can be bothered to tweak and faff with my FF a bit more.

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