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A recent discussion at Charlotte's Library about her favourite fictional room was a joy to me as this is probably my favourite fictional room too. You can click through to read the description which enthralled me around age 11. I was a small child like the main character in The little white horse which I think helped me identify with the bedroom being perfect (I think there was another bit where the door was the perfect height for Maria, which at the time seemed wonderful but I think I would have been loathe to give it up once I grew taller).

Other people's favourite fictional rooms are being discussed at Jen Robinson's blog. There are real gems, like Anne's room at Green Gables and Sara Crewe's spruced up attic room. Another room I remember loving was Westerly's from Susan Cooper's Seaward. I can't describe it clearly(my copy of Seaward is approximately 17,000km away) but the idea was that the two main characters found a tower where their perfect rooms awaited them. I'm pretty sure there was a trapdoor and telescope involved in West's room. In any case I also remember spending hours dreaming up my own perfect room after reading the book.

And two and half years on from my last discussion on the topic, the movie trailer of The little white horse, or The secret of Moonacre as it has been renamed*, is available. You can watch the trailer here (go to the third page of thumbnails to see it). I'm afraid it didn't do much for me in evoking the feeling of the book, so perhaps it's going to be one of those situations where it's better to treat it as a completely different piece of art rather than an adaptation of a beloved book.

EDITED to add: the director is the same as The bridge to Terabitha, which had a terrible trailer but was a wonderful adaptation. So perhaps this trailer is also misleading!

*although generally renaming annoys me I have a little bit of sympathy for this change. I think the title was one of the things that put me off reading The little white horse for so long as a child, combined with the pink cover it screamed "girly!"

Looking at my list of books read, I'm quite far behind on talking about books of interest. Here's a quicky update on some of them:

Josephine Tey’s The Franchise Affair was another excellent mystery. This one is about a country solicitor whose peaceful life is interrupted when he called in to help two local women who are accused of kidnapping a girl. The girl can describe the women and their house accurately, and her story appears to be without any holes, but the solicitor is convinced the local women are innocent. It didn’t press as many of my personal buttons as Brat Farrar but was still a great read where the central mystery was well mixed with descriptions of country life and a little romance.

As I’ve already told some of you, I took Sherwood Smith’s King’s Shield with my on my holidays and was dismayed by how the story sucked me in – I finished it far too quickly and had to scrabble around for new books! So I guess it’s obvious that I enjoyed it greatly. Less piratical activity but lots of battles and hints of interesting things ahead!

I’m giving up on Elizabeth Goudge’s adult romances. The middle window was so treacly sweet that I think I only finished due to its relatively short length (apologies, gauroth - although I think you liked this as a teen?). It’s amazing how heavy handed the sentimentality is in her adult books compared to her children’s ones.

By contrast, the final Elizabeth Enright Melendy book, A spiderweb for two was sweet but tempered with a good eye for realistic family relationships. This featured the two youngest Melendys, who are desolate at being left at home as their older siblings attend boarding school. But the year passes quickly after they receive a series of clues on a treasure hunt around their house, garden and local countryside. As with the other books in the series (a great find of this year) a comfortable, enjoyable read.

I'm being lazy here and nicking bits of my quick reviews from goodreads, so if you're one of my friends there please don't be surprised if you have deja vu.

A new mystery book that I enjoyed a month or so ago was In the bleak midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming. This is a modern mystery/crime book set in a small town in New York and starring a female Episcopalion priest and the local police chief. The setting was very well done (it made me feel cold!), the characters mostly believable and the storyline well paced and interesting. It's the first in a series, which is great as now I have the sequels to look forward to now! I think I owe Jen for this recommendation.

As I mentioned recently, I've started reading my way through the Elizabeth Goudge books in my library system. I liked Linnets and Valerians a lot more than Green dolphin country. This is a children's book from 1964 (though set at the turn of the century) that combines a family story with elements of fantasy. The family part revolves around four children who have had to move in with their previously reclusive uncle. There are lots of loving descriptions of the English countryside and meals, and everyday childhood dramas over chores etc. Overall I enjoyed it, although the fantasy parts felt less well done than in The little white horse. People who enjoy Enright, Nesbit etc would probably like this book.

In a comment of my 2006 review of The sharing knife: beguilement I said I'm sometimes surprised at how enthusiastic I am in a blog entry compared to my memories of a book later on. And sure enough, I just re-read this book (in preparation for reading its sequel The sharing knife: legacy) and was surprised that I was so warm in my reaction in 2006. This time around I felt that despite touching moments the romance was not wholly believable, and Fawn, the main female lead was a bit irritating in her naivity. The relationship didn't develop as much I'd hope in the sequel, either. I still found the world building excellent and the overall story interesting. I wonder if my love of Bujold's other books have led me to be too critical of these books which are quite different in tone and pace? Are there other Bujold fans who think the Sharing knife books are her best?

Instead of recent books I’ve read, I thought I’d discuss some of the books I haven’t finished this year. I’ve actually finished nearly all of the books I’ve properly started (i.e. not just read a few pages and decided it wasn’t for me) this year and was starting to think I’m either mellowing with age or getting better at picking out books. But recently I’ve had to give up, at least temporarily, on a few books that I’m sure are quite good but just didn't suit me at the time.

First up is Robert Grave’s Claudius the God. Despite enjoying the Big Read of I, Claudius and racing through the first half of this book, I just stalled and haven’t summoned enough enthusiasm to finish it off. I don’t know if it’s the thought of remembering the huge cast of characters or the dense prose but it’s time for it to go back to the library, perhaps to be borrowed out another day.

Then there’s a Josephine Tey, Privateer. This is a novel about the 17th century privateer Henry Morgan. Despite generally liking the setting and the idea of the story, I just go stuck half way through and realised I don’t have the interest to keep going. I can't point at anything in the book that's irritating me, it’s just not my cuppa tea.

A book that will probably hang around the house a little longer while I wait to see if I will go back to it is Green dolphin country by Elizabeth Goudge. I have just realised my library system here has lots of Goudge books (I’d previously only read the wonderful The little white horse) including adult romances like this one. It’s set in the nineteenth century and is split between the Channel Islands and New Zealand. Although I am interested in reading how Goudge depicted New Zealand, I’m not sure I can stomach much more of the unnecessarily complicated romance or the characters that seem to have had the same personalities and motivations etc since they were children.

Another book I’m still leery about returning to the library as I keep thinking that surely I’ll pick it up to finish is Haruki Murakami’s The wind-up bird chronicle. I think the writing is wonderful and have enjoyed what I’ve read but again, am stuck. I think it’s the length combined with the slow plot that’s stumping me. I’ll definitely try another Murakami even if I don’t finish this one off.

Maybe it's just my pregnancy hormones, but this book made me bawl like a baby! A picture book for young children, this story focuses on the consequences bushfires can bring upon wildlife and the motherly love and devotion that can be seen truly be seen in animals, as well as in humans.

Sandra Markle, along with illustrator Alan Marks, create a beautiful book surrounding the true story of a mother koala and her determination in protecting her joey from harm. When bushfires begin attacking their home forest, forcing them to lose all sources of shelter and food, the mother koala knows she must now seek refuge elsewhere, a task much easier said than done. Through injury and exhaustion, the mother koala never loses focus on her goal and always keeps her joey safe.