Sunday 15 May 2022

Birthday books

So, I was really lucky this year and got given some lovely new books for my birthday. Some years there aren't many, others it's the complete reverse, no rhyme or reason. This year I did well. 

 


From the bottom:

Manderley Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay. I actually bought this as birthday present for myself. I saw it talked about on a Booktube video I think, 'somewhere' anyway and it sounded like a really excellent biography of Daphne Du Maurier. I've only ever read one book about the writer's life and that was the short autobiographical book, Myself When Young, which was delightful. I think it will be interesting reading about her life from someone else's point of view. 

The Wild Isles, edited by Patrick Barkham, is a big compilation of British and Irish nature writing and includes such authors as Gilbert White, Nan Shepherd, Henry Williamson, John Clare, Chris Packham and many, many more. It's a biggish tome with a stunning cover by artist, Angela Harding:


 

Still Life by Sarah Winman is set in WW2 in Italy and is about a young British soldier and a 64 year old art historian who meet and form a bond. I don't know a lot about the book to be honest, I just know that it seems to be a historical that's been loved by all who read it.

The Girl Who Came Home to Cornwall by Emma Burstall is another book with a pretty cover:

Cover art by Claire Henley. Anyway, I gather this is about a Mexican woman who travels to Cornwall to find her roots, so it's about family history and secrets. It is actually book 5 in the author's 'Tremarnock' series but I suspect it can be read ok as a standalone.

Cornish Short Stories, edited by Emma Timpany and Felicity Notley is a collection of contemporary Cornish writing. More than that I do not know but from the blurb on the back the stories sound interesting and imaginative.

Green For Danger by Christianna Brand is one of the latest BLCC reissues. It's about the murder of a postman and seems mainly to be a medical whodunit based in or around a hospital. Sounds good to me!

So that was a great birthday haul and I feel very blessed to have people in my life who give me wonderful books like these.


24 comments:

Nan said...

Happy Birthday!!!! And such nice presents!
I read my first Christianna Brand book this year, and liked it a lot. It is Heads You Lose, book 1 in the Inspector Cockrill series. I saw Green For Danger years ago, and I think I was confused. I will read the book. It is second in that series. Again, Happy Birthday. Your blog always, always cheers me, and teaches me so much!

Margot Kinberg said...

Happy Birthday! I hope you had a lovely day. You certainly got some terrific presents. Green For Danger is, in my opinion, a well-plotted and well-written story that builds atmosphere effectively. I'd also like to try Cornish Short Stories. Short stories are such a good way to get to know writers one might not have 'met' before; I hope you'll enjoy them.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Happy Birthday - nothing better than books for presents

Green for Danger is one of the recent BLCC that the library hasn't bought - I may have to treat myself!

Lark said...

Books for your birthday are always a good thing! And it looks like you got some really good ones. Happy reading! :)

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

All look good - I did read Still Life and the cover is wonderful. I'm intrigued by Wild Isles as well enjoy.

TracyK said...

Books are lovely presents for any occasion. Green for Danger is one of my favorite vintage mysteries. I could reread it again someday. And there is a film that is also very good.

Manderley Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay sounds really good, I will have to look out for that.

The rest all sound good and I will wait to see how you like them. Especially the short story book.

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

Books are great presents and you've got a wonderful stack to enjoy. I love the sound of Manderley Forever. I read Rebecca as a young teenager and that first magical sentence caught my imagination - and still does. I'm adding that book to my wishlist. And the other books look good too. Happy reading!

CLM said...

Happy Birthday! A nice assortment. I keep seeing that Still Life book everywhere and then realizing it is not the Louse Penny book which I gave to someone before I realized I like the series! I have only read one Brand book and it was a historical novel, not a mystery but I keep meaning to read more. I may even own a tired paperback of that book. Of course, these authors try to lure us in by putting Cornwall on the cover - and it works! That mystery series I read in which "Death in Cornwall" caught my eye was kind of dull but that book was definitely the best of the four.

Jeane said...

Books are the best birthday gift! And those look lovely.

Cath said...

Nan: Thank you, my birthday was actually last week but I'm only now getting to post about the books I got.

I don't know why I've not read anything by Christianna Brand, although I did read a bit about her in Martin Edwards' book about the golden age of crime fiction.

I'm glad my blog cheers you up, we need cheering up in these terrible times.

Cath said...

Margot: Thank you, yes I had rather a nice day on my birthday, lots of nice phonecalls and chats. Good to hear you liked Green for Danger, it probably means I will too. The authors in the Cornish short story collection seem to be unknown writers so it will be very interesting to sample them.

Cath said...

Sue: Thankyou! Yes, Green for Danger is one of the latest reissues by the BLCC and by all accounts it's not bad.

Cath said...

Lark: Yes, really and truly getting lovely books for your birthday is the absolute 'best'. :-)

Cath said...

Diane: I'm late to the party with Still Life, a lot of people seem to have already read it. Wild Isles looks wonderful, I think I shall enjoy dipping in and out of that.

Cath said...

Tracy: Yes, I gather Green for Danger is pretty good. I've read nothing by the author so I'm keen to try her.

I just couldn't resist Manderley Forever, especially given how much DdM loved Cornwall. I do also need to read some of her books that I've haven't already read but you know how it is, so many books...

Cath said...

Margaret: I too read Rebecca as a teenager and have felt for a while that I really ought to read it again. I don't remember a lot about it to be honest so it would feel like a new read. The other one I want to read is My Cousin Rachel which I've never read at all. But yes, the biography does look very good.

Cath said...

Constance: Thank you, my birthday was last week but having recieved such lovely books it feels like it still is. LOL

Yes, I was the same with the title of Still Life, I thought it was Louise Penny's book reissued too. Oh yes, putting 'Cornwall' in a book title is a bit like putting 'Christmas' in one. It draws everybody in. And there's a 'lot' of Cornish fiction around these days. To be honest I don't read a lot of it, prefering to read about places I've never been rather than the place I was brought up.

Cath said...

Jeane: No argument from me about books being the best gifts!

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

A birthday is definitely a good excuse to add to those bulging TBR shelves, without anyone being able to raise eyebrows, as gifts can't count towards your guilt of course! :)

Another vote from me for 'Green For Danger' and I have so many books on my 'wish list' set in Cornwall, but not 'The Girl Who Came Home To Cornwall' - so it just has to be done!

Enjoy all your brand spanking new books, they are always the best :)

Rick Robinson said...

Green For Danger has long been considered a classic and is, in my opinion, her best. The film is excellent as well.

Are the essays in The Wild Isles, edited by Patrick Barkham old, new, from a single or various sources, or…?

Cath said...

Yvonne: Birthdays are a wonderful excuse to acquire new books in my opinion. No guilt involved at all! LOL

Yes, it seems Green for Danger is universally popular so I've put it onto my list for the 20 Books of Summer challenge which starts in June, thus I get to read it soon. I haven't read anything by Emma Burstall who wrote the Cornish book so that will be interesting when I get to it.

Thanks, Yvonne.

Cath said...

Rick: I plan to read Green for Danger very soon, I had no idea how popular the book is. Hopefully I'm in for a treat.

The essays in The Wild Isles are a very mixed bunch by multiple authors... about 60 of them. Some of them I know quite well, others not so much. Age-wise they seem to cover a couple of centuries, Gilbert White 'possibly' being the oldest but I can't be certain of that because I've not heard of some of the writers. The book is broken up into sections with headings such as, Birds, Four Seasons, A Wild Childhood, Islands and Coastlines, Urban Nature, Discomfort, Dystopia, Death, and Future Nature. It really is a very beautiful book but how it will read is, as with any book, anybody's guess.

Susan said...

Happy birthday, Cath! It looks like you got some great bookish gifts and have many hours of lovely reading ahead of you. The Cornwall book looks especially good. I'm going to have to check out that series. I love a good family history story, especially one set in England, where my own roots are (with a good bit of Scottish and Welsh thrown in).

Cath said...

Susan: Thank you! I enjoy a good family history story too, and there a couple of good TV shows about it as well. Oh and I have Scottish blood too, my grandfather was a Scot.