Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Ask Me What is My Favourite Book…

Read Watership Down when I wad 12 and loved it and...

2010-11-15T00:10:35.190Z

Read Watership Down when I wad 12 and loved it and lived it. On the very rare occasions when I have failed to avoid a rabbit on the road I have felt sick and literally cried at the thought of Fiver & Bigwig and the devastation I have caused to their little community.
Can't believe Bees has recommended Duncton Wood already. I WAS GOING TO DO THAT. Is also marvellous. Read it as an adult and enjoyed it enormously. Your kids would love it Mr Ken.

I recommend Duncton Wood by William Horwood, in wh...

2010-03-04T12:09:10.336Z

I recommend Duncton Wood by William Horwood, in which the main characters are moles - he has created a magical world full of adventure, wisdom and they even have their own religion. -Also The Little Grey Men Go Down The Bright Stream by BB - a delightful read as miniature folk have to move on, I remember one has an acorn cup and stalk as his false leg!

Ken I was given Watership Down as a Christmas pre...

2010-03-04T11:47:22.148Z

Ken

I was given Watership Down as a Christmas present some time in the late seventies, by an aunt who knoew I was a big reader. It absolutely blew me away, an amazing and moving story and a cast of great characters. I read it many times throughout my childhood, unusually for me, till eventually the book fell apart. No other book has ever affected me so much. I read it again as an adult and still loved it. You are right aboout the film, definitely didn't do it justice

oo I so remember that book and impressed myself wh...

2009-06-17T17:29:57.878+01:00

oo I so remember that book and impressed myself when I read it in Grade 6 (because of the sheer thickness of the book) I also recall telling the interviewer at a Private school I was trying to get into that "Watership down" was my favorite book. I expected an impressed feedback, but he wasn't. That book was read at the grade 4 curriculum.

Fiendish: Exams nearly over. Will you come back ...

2009-06-16T22:17:18.385+01:00

Fiendish: Exams nearly over. Will you come back to us? Hope so. :)

Vettech: I agree with you on everything... except renting the video... don't do that people. :)

Laura: Thanks. I think I went a little over-mawkish.

Jim: The Plague Dogs is a very good read. Well, it was back when I did...

Dave: If I could follow you, I'd be all right I think. You're doing great work over there. :)

Strange how we follow each other (I have the same ...

2009-06-15T11:42:20.956+01:00

Strange how we follow each other (I have the same experience very often with Jim): I have recently blogged about how Le Mort D'Arthur stuff at school put me off Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, not for years, but for decades, and I can also report that those pesky rabbits put me off Watership Down for yonks. Interesting post, though, and I would also agree with you in saying that it would now be close to the top of my list also.

I might have read it. I'm not sure. It was a l...

2009-06-15T08:59:59.218+01:00

I might have read it. I'm not sure. It was a long time before I saw the film. In fact the last time it was on TV was the first time I'd watched it the whole way through. It didn't excite me and, even accounting for the fact that it may well be not the best adaptation, I still feel no great urge to read it again. It's the rabbits I think.

I do remember reading The Plague Dogs. That I enjoyed which is strange because I'm not really a dog person.

I had a look on Amazon to see what else he'd done. The Girl in a Swing sounds interesting - no cuddly animals whatsoever - but at 400 pages it's a bit on the long side for me.

That was possibly the most beautiful review a book...

2009-06-14T16:56:51.790+01:00

That was possibly the most beautiful review a book has ever had. :) I have a book like that but I can't remember the author's name or the book title. It wasn't a famous book that I could hope to see somewhere on a shelf. It was about a ghost named Miranda and I read it over the summer, sitting on the wide front steps of our frontyard or a blanket pulled under one of the trees in that same yard. I remember squishing a bug between the pages at some point because it was far too persistent than any bug should be allowed to be. My Mom brought out water before it came in bottles. A friend came over and interrupted my reading. My brother and I went for a bike ride but Miranda was on my mind until I could pick up the book and read it again. When I finished the book I vowed I would name one of my daughters after Miranda in the book. I'd like to find the book again, even though it might not stand up to my memories of it. When I was a few years older I read Shirley Jackson's 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' and that one I have found on secondhand bookstore shelves and read again. It is funny how some books really stick with you.

Oh my do I love this book...I have read it over an...

2009-06-14T16:49:08.222+01:00

Oh my do I love this book...I have read it over and over. The things I see in it as an adult are very different from when I was a kid. I still sob at the end.

Fiendish --- if you absolutely won't read the book- but you should, then by all means rent the video --- it's gonna make you WANT to read the book

I started it and got bored, as am I far too wont t...

2009-06-14T15:10:19.832+01:00

I started it and got bored, as am I far too wont to do. I do plan to read it again someday, but meanwhile, I enjoyed this blog post very very much.

Susan: I think you'd like it all over again. ...

2009-06-14T11:00:14.446+01:00

Susan: I think you'd like it all over again. That end is even sadder now tho'. :)

Jena: The 'rabbit thing' might not work for you. You're such a grounded person. :)

Now, I want to read the book Ken. Based on your de...

2009-06-13T14:35:56.103+01:00

Now, I want to read the book Ken. Based on your description it seems the kind of read during a long, luxurious, summer month.

I loved it when I first read it, about the same ti...

2009-06-13T14:21:11.450+01:00

I loved it when I first read it, about the same time you did (if many miles away). I never read it again however; it might have been the crying at the end (which I remember more than the story!)... but I always had a soft spot for rabbits ever after.

I think I'll re-read it, now that you've brought it back to mind. I might be old enough to handle it by now? LOL