What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

The Galliano's Circus stories have been favourites of mine for as long as I can remember, María Esther. There's such a strong feeling of warmth and fun and community spirit. I used to long to be Lotta, riding in the circus ring and living in a caravan and being spirited and daring. My favourite is the third book, which is a bit darker and very dramatic.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I too, loved the Galliano books - as I wrote in my Desert Island series for the Journal. The first book had the most impact on me - I used to imagine Jumbo the elephant roaming down my street when it was thundering, me looking out of my bedroom window and seeing him, and going to find him, as Jimmy does. Also, my dad was an electrician and was always doing carpentry - so I identified with that part of the book too - and always wished I could join a circus and have a dog who was as clever as Lucky!

I can remember spending half a day trying to balance on a beach ball, and trying to walk it along, thinking this would be a sure fire way of being accepted into a circus!! :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by db105 »

Rob Houghton wrote: I can remember spending half a day trying to balance on a beach ball, and trying to walk it along, thinking this would be a sure fire way of being accepted into a circus!! :lol:
:D That's funny. On a non-Blyton note, I remember as a very little kid watching the Lucky Luke cartoons. (If you are unfamiliar with him, Lucky Luke is a character created by the Belgian comic book artist Morris. He is a cowboy in the Old West, and he is so fast with the gun that he is "faster than his own shadow". And that's meant in a literal manner. He is so fast that he is actually able to shoot his own shadow before it has time to react.) So I remember trying it myself: making a gun shape with my hand, looking sideways at my shadow on the wall and trying to "shoot" before it reacted. Unfortunately I was not quite as fast as Lucky Luke, or my shadow was faster than his, because it was always able to match my movements. :evil:
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Courtenay »

I love the Galliano's Circus books too, Maria Esther (as you can see from my avatar)! :D Glad you're enjoying them. Have you read the third in the series, Circus Days Again, yet? It's my favourite, although I love them all.

As for which book I'm reading right now — Twenty-Minute Tales, as my dad has very kindly given me his own copy that he won as a school prize back in 1955. I must have dipped into it years ago, as some of the stories are vaguely familiar, but not all of them, so I don't think I ever read it through. Last night I was rediscovering how nice it is to read one or two Enid Blyton short stories just before bedtime — a peaceful way to settle down.

Meanwhile, Dad was telling us that as a boy, he timed some of the stories to see if they really did take twenty minutes to read, and they didn't! False advertising!! :mrgreen:
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Oh well, at least the stories in Twenty-Minute Tales are fairly long - and would no doubt take longer to read aloud than to read to oneself. I don't think any of the four books in the set have illustrations, so perhaps the intention was for teachers to read the stories out loud to their pupils. I can't help noticing that removing the hyphen from the title turns the book into a collection of twenty extremely short tales! :lol:

It's a while since I read Twenty-Minute Tales, but the ones that have stuck in my mind are 'The Magic Toffee' (enjoyably alarming) and 'The Two Red Indians' (which is like a mini Secret Seven adventure).
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by John Pickup »

The Secret Of Spiggy Holes. I have never had any of this series in hardback but the paperback version doesn't detract from a super story. After Secret Mountain this is my favourite book of the series.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I read it a few weeks ago, and quite enjoyed it, but I agree with you that The Secret Mountain is my favourite in the series. :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Lucky Star »

I like Spiggy Holes but I think I would rank the series as Island, Mountain, Killimooin, Spiggy Holes and Moon Castle. Spiggy is a good little story but lacks the punch of the other three I placed before it in my opinion.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Yes - similar here - except I would put Moon Castle higher up! -

Mountain, Moon Castle, Killimooin, Spiggy Holes.

I always class Island as a book on its own, even though its part of the series, as I feel it is so completely different to the others!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Lucky Star »

Rob Houghton wrote:
I always class Island as a book on its own, even though its part of the series, as I feel it is so completely different to the others!
Yes I too tend to regard it as a stand alone book. I can read it without feeling any urge to continue the series which is not something I generally do with other first entries. Normally reading the first makes me want to continue but not with this series. Moon Castle foe some reason has never particularly enthralled me; I don't quite know why, something to do with the whole weird atmosphere of the titular castle and it's odd occupants I think.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Machupicchu14 »

I don't know why, but it makes me laugh to think of Mrs Browne in Mr Galliano's Circus collection cooking an Irish stew :lol:
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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Stews of various kinds would be popular because it's convenient to cook everything in one pot or pan if you're cooking in a confined space like a caravan, or outside over a fire. Stew is nice and easy to ladle out too - and filling, warming and nutritious. Mmm - I could just eat some! :D
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I love stews and casseroles - favourite meals! :-D

I'm currently reading a first edition version of 'The Ragamuffin Mystery'. I always liked it as a child (first read it in paperback in a book I bought while on holiday in North Wales - maybe that's why!) and I'm still enjoying it now. I think reading a first, or early edition certainly helps in my enjoyment of a book (I must try Banshee Towers and see if that theory works!)

I must admit, Ragamuffin is a bit slow to get going, and seems a bit 'bitty' at the start - going off in a caravan, then the children's mother being called away, then travelling to North Wales etc - then Snubby arriving - it all seems to have no real direction, but I'm still finding it more enjoyable than Rat-A-Tat - as I always did. :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Machupicchu14 »

It's actually kind of late for me, but I just had to stay awake to finish Mr Galliano's collection, because I couldn't stop. And now that I have finished the book, I am feeling so sad. My admiration for Enid Blyton has increased, and I certainly do think she is the best author in the whole world. I wish she was alive to ask her if she could continue mr galliano's series. When I started reading it, some years ago, I never realised I liked those books so much. Everything it teaches, as you enter Mr Galliano's Circus, is simply stunning. It teaches us to be kind to everyone for only you'll be happy when you are kind to others. Then, the courage the characters have, like Lotta, is amazing. They can be stubborn sometimes, but they have the courage to do what they think it's right, and they always succeed. Furthermore, I love the way all the circus folk are ready to help each others, and through the pages, you learn the value of friendship. Of course, you also have the plot, which is just as good as any Enid Blyton book, very well developed, and the characters are the nicest people I have ever 'known'. Especially Mr Galliano, if only there was a ring master like him, a person like him, he's very special. And it's always nice to read books with children, and Lotta and Jimmy make the best of friends together. I wished I was like them. And I've noticed that the main characters in Enid Blyont's books are truthful, a great quality.
Again, after reading these books the only words I can say are: I love Enid Blyton :D
"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."
(все, что я понимаю, я понимаю только потому, что люблю)
Lev Tolstoy


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Re: What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Glad you've enjoyed the Galliano books, Maria Esther! They are truly remarkable and special books. I read them all again last year and loved every minute of them! Everything you say about them I agree with - I love the feeling of community in the circus, the way everyone (unless they are baddies who are quickly got rid of!) pulls together and works for the good of everyone. I love the way Enid shows how kindness and friendliness pays dividends - and kindness to animals is heavily promoted. A brilliantly warm series. :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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