A couple of months ago, Betty Keira and I had a planning session (while sitting in that dang Airbus!). I had brought with me a list of the complete Canon...with books that we had already reviewed marked off and a handy little pocket calendar - we were all set to divide up the books and choose ones that we wanted to review over the next few months. Our conversation went something like this(keep in mind the fact that we didn't have access to our libraries or the inter-web-nets):Betty Keira (BK): Heaven is Gentle? Is that the one with ....umm....ummm....I don't remember.
Betty Debbie (BD): I think it has a nurse...and a RDD...but maybe not.
BK: I think you're confusing it with Heaven Around the Corner.
BD: No, that's the one with the alcoholic...I remember that one...I think...
BK: How about A Little Moonlight?
BD: I got nothin'.
So many of the titles to Neels books seemed to have been chosen with a literary equivalent to the Random Pub Name Generator (I just found a site that has a Random Title Generator)...the problem is that they are just too vague - especially if they are a "Best of Betty Neels" (you know, the ones with the pretty, nondescript covers). With that in mind, we decided it might be fun to rename some of those excessively vague titles. Give these books new titles that might actually help us remember them!
We'll start with three that we've already reviewed (you can use the reviews to refresh your memory...if you're at all like us and need a little nudge as a reminder). Choose one or more.
- Always and Forever
- Dearest Love
- An Unlikely Romance
Here are my attempts (I'm sure you'll do better):
- Always and Fforever (the doctor's name is Fforde...I seldom forget a double "f")
- In Re Your Advertisement (girl responds to an advertisement to be a live-in janitor)
- Trixie and the Unpronounceable Dutch Doctor with a Hyphenated Last Name (Krijn van der Brink-Schaaksma)
Since I'm leaving town (yes, again) next Wednesday, I think we'll end this contest at midnightish on Monday, May 24nd (or before Betty Keira gets up on Tuesday). Let the games begin...
Oh, prizes? You betcha...I've got copies of Matilda's Wedding, Heidelberg Wedding or The Secret Pool (all of which will be reviewed next month). Your choice.
Dearest Love -> Sparks and Sparkplugs
ReplyDeleteBetty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteUnlikely Romance--Beatrice and the Endocrins. Or maybe that's better as a rock band name. Maybe Trixie's Dense Dutch Doctor would work better.
Dearest Love--The Doctor and the Mousy Plumber.
Hmmm, it's late and my brain is dead. I may be able to come up with something better before the deadline.
“Always and Forever”—“Amabel’s Ffolly, or Yucking It Up in York”
ReplyDelete“An Unlikely Romance”—“Cryin’ for Krijn, or Gleeful for Glands Rather than Adoring Andre the Architect”
“Dearest Love”—“From Handyman to Harrods, or How to Fix a Fuse to Hook the Hunk”