November Reading

Mary Poppins, Pamela L. Travers 
I only had the German version, but I guess it doesn't matter all too much. I had previously only known the Disney movie, and expected something similar - and while some of the elements certainly are there, I was quite surprised at how vain and strict Mary Poppins is in the books. As well as always admiring how fine she looks in any reflecting surface she encounters, she also has a habit of answering questions in a very flippant and unexplanatory way.
Something else that rather annoyed me was that during their little trip around the world, all the people they encounter speak perfectly fine German (and English, I suppose), except for the inhabitants of Africa. I guess 1934 were different times, yes, but still.
All in all, there were some nice ideas in there, but it wasn't all that exciting.

One Piece 63, Eiichiro Oda
Read once more as a refresher, since a lot of background information happened in this volume.
And then...

One Piece 64, Eiichiro Oda
As soon as it arrived, of course. Well, after rereading #63.I love these guys so much. And while they have become quite powerful by now, I trust that Mr. Oda will still find fun adventures for them to have.



The Big Five for Life, John P. Strelecky
Again, the German version. Funny enough, the English subtitle clearly designates it as showing secrets of good leadership, while the German version seems to put it into the general self-help corner. Well.
Ignoring the super-sentimental ending, there were some interesting points in there. A few new tricks to use, a few new ideas to implement. Always helpful, that.

Blaue Flecken auf der Seele, Francoise Sagan
I actually liked this one much more than Bonjour tristesse. A lovely mixture of plot, reflection on writing (of this story and in general) and musings about life. I think I'll be keeping this one.

Ophelia lernt schwimmen, Susanna Kubelka
This one was odd. A strange trip into the 80s, and something completely different than what I expected from reading the blurb. Some of the time, I though I was reading an 80s magazine, with lots of tips on proper diet, beauty tricks, musings on female empowerment, and the odd advice on how to have great sex. Sadly enough, there only seems to be one perfect formula for that, and everything else is a major failure. Right.
Also, the blurb stated that these were to be the aventures of a single woman over 40, and I thought that meant she would have to deal with the typical problems one associates with that age - not looking your absolute best anymore, not being as fit, possibly newly divorced and trying to find your footing in life...but no. Ophelia has a face/body like a 25-year-old, seemingly loses weight by eating buttered baguette (the fact that it's the vegetables that are responsible for all of the good resulst is mostly glossed over), makes any man who comes into contact with her fall madly in love with her just by means of looking the way she does (and not because she's particularly witty or anything), oh, and did I mention she has loads of money and is living in Paris for 6 months on someone elses cost?
Yes, I was disappointed. I expected something completely different. I had been looking forward to this book for quite a while, since when it came into the house, I had been told it was fun and nicely erotic - only to find out that it was neither. Well.
The one good thing I took from this book was one this one sentence: 'Wirf den Krempel über Bord.' (sort of: 'Chuck out the junk.'). Just what I'm doing at the moment.

Geschmacklosigkeiten von A bis Z, Karl Shaw
One of those tiny books you buy as joke gifts for friends. Strange little facts and anecdotes.

Wanted, Eiichiro Oda
Five manga short stories, written before he started on One Piece. Finally had to get them - it's such a long wait until February! Anyway, the quality of the stories steadily improves from Wanted (which he wrote at 16 or 17 years old while still at school) until Romance Dawn (the first version of One Piece). Finally learning about Ryuma, who appears on Thriller Bark in OP, was quite nice. Main insight: Seems like Mr. Oda has always had no small supply of strange and wonderful ideas.

The Last Hero, Terry Pratchett/Paul Kidby
Finally! I have no idea how long I've had this lying around. Very short for a Disworld story, but then there's all the beautiful pictures, of course. And I always love someone tricking the gods when they thought they already knew all the tricks. ;) Loved the ending also - actually, all of them. The thing with the tapestry? Genius. :D

I make that - seven (new) books in a month. Whew. Very good indeed!