So, I had a slowish reading month in October. Not that it matters a jot, sometimes other things grab your attention and that's fine - I've really enjoyed doing some jigsaw puzzles this month, both real ones and online (for those interested, Jigidi is great site.)
Anyhow, six books read and these are they:
90. A Time of Torment - John Connolly
91. A Body in the Village Hall - Dee MacDonald. Two sisters move to Cornwall and find murder and mayhem amongst the cliffs and coves. Fun but not sure whether I'll read more in the series or not.
92. Persuasion - Jane Austen
93. The Black Seraphim - Michael Gilbert
94. Postcards from South America - Alistair McGuiness. Author does a tour of a number of South American countries, Bolivia, Peru, Ecquador etc., with his wife. Okay but didn't really engage me completely.
95. The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie
Looking at the six books, I had four excellent reads and two average. Basically, the ones I reviewed were the ones I loved and that's the way I seem to be going these days, reviewing the loved books, mentioning the ones I liked but that didn't really thrill me. And I'm okay with that.
Currently I'm reading several books. Halfway through, In a Glass Darkly, spooky short stories by Sheridan Le Fanu, and it's excellent so far.
And I've just started these two:
Dear Hugo by Molly Clavering is an epistolary novel set during World War 2. I try to read something connected with the the two world wars in November, it being Armistice Day on the 11th.
The Necessary Aptitude by poet, Pam Ayres, is her autobiography which I've had hanging about for years (it was published in 2012). I've been watching her delightul documentary series about The Cotswolds, she's done two series now, and thought her book would make a lovely bedtime read. And so it is.
Anyway, that was my reading for October. Highs and lows etc. Or, more accurately, highs and not so highs, no real lows at all.
And here's the prettiest, rather autumnal looking, jigsaw I did in October:
Have a good November and I hope you find some great books to read.
20 comments:
That puzzle looks so difficult. Well done. I only like jigsaws when they are finished and someone else has done them!
What a beautiful puzzle, Cath! Well done! I know what you mean, too, about slower reading months. Sometimes that happens to me, too. I'm glad you had some good reads, even if they weren't all stellar. It's nice to see Agatha Christie included here; her work's always worth a (re)read, in my opinion.
I love that jigsaw,such beautiful colours. I like the variety in your reading -and it's good to take time to enjoy reading and other things too.
Sue: LOL! It wasn't too bad to be honest, the shapes helped me as they were quite irregular.
Margot: Thank you. Some months are just like that I think. You can't always keep reading at breakneck speed. Agatha Christie is always worth it, so many of hers that I've only seen on the screen so it's great to get around to actually reading them.
Margaret: Thank you, yes it's a nice one. And I agree, doing things other than reading 'all' the time is a good thing.
Love that finished puzzle, but all that autumn orange must have made it a tough one. I haven't been in the mood for a puzzle lately, but the board is still out and in place for me to start a new one. :-)
Nice mix in your six books, some classics and some newer stuff. I only managed five in October myself, and I totally understand your tendency to only review the ones you enjoy. It just comes so much easier and quicker doesn't it? On the negative ones, I always end up wondering if I've stepped over one of those invisible lines they are training us to be so afraid of these days.
I used to do online puzzles on Jigzone. Had forgotten why I enjoyed them so much! So I just hopped over and did one on Jigidi- that little snap when they go together is so satisfying.
Cool puzzle. And at least you read a few really good books in October! I don't like reviewing the middling books I read either. Here's hoping for lots of good reads in November. :D
I am not sure I have any special reading goals for November but maybe I need some!
At some point, you and I should read/reread the book that comes before The Seven Dials Mystery. Also, didn't you want Bundle to end up with someone better than the man she did?
Someone I know just posted six of the Lavender Road books by Helen Carey for $50, and it looks like the sort of WWII series I enjoy but I really need to make a dent in the books I already own. But then I saw I had put book 1 on my Goodreads TBR and I was so tempted...
Three of the books you enjoyed a lot are ones I liked too, Persuasion, Black Seraphim, and Seven Dials Mystery. I want to try one of his books but I think they are too scary and tense for me. I have a book of his short stories, but I don't think that would be the same.
I plan to read Dear Hugo sometime soon. There are some challenges in November that I would like to do, for example Novellas in November, but I am not sure I will have time.
Sam: Believe it or not the puzzle wasn't too hard at all. The shape of the pieces was irregular and I think that helped although the dark bits were slightly more tricky.
Yes, it does come easier to just review the books we enjoy. After all, this is something we do for a hobby, it's not paid work so it's up to us how we run our blogs. I'm actually inclined to keep this up to be honest, as you say, it's much easier to talk about the books we 'like'. I don't care to be trained to do anything I don't want to do so that kind of thing is not going to work with me. Far too awkward. LOL
Jeane: I'll have a look at Jigzone. Jigidi is so addictive!
Lark: Yep, and four good books out of six is actually pretty good. I think I might make a NY's resolution that I'll only review the books I like a lot.
Constance: I had a lot of reading goals in October, or it felt like it anyway, but not so many for this month. I have one challenge book to read, and Dear Hugo will finish off another challenge if I choose, so it's all good.
Yes! I'm up for reading the first Bundle book with you at some stage. Oddly enough, I didn't want Bundle to end up with who she did either. He was not worthy of her in my opinion... not keen at all.
Oh gosh, yes, that kind of temptation is so... well... 'tempting'! And there're a lot worse things to do with $50. In my opinion anyway.
Tracy: John Connolly is pretty intense, his books always make you uneasy one way or another. But his writing is amazing and I would not give up reading him. If the book of short stories you have is Nocturnes then those are pretty creepy too, but brilliant.
I may do Novellas in November too as I have a number of them. Also non-fiction November but I read non-fiction every month anyway so that's not really much of a challenge for me. Time is the thing isn't it?
I'd never heard of Le Fanu before today, but both you and Lark have mentioned him (her?) lately. Interesting! I do like Gothic mystery novels, so I'll have to give him (her?) a go sometime.
I am still addicted to my jigsawplanet.com daily online puzzle fix, as I like that you can change the number of pieces in the jigsaw and also the shape of the pieces, which alters the difficulty factor. I must check out jigidi too though, as it seems to be quite popular.
I'm sorry that the Dee MacDonald book fell a little flat for you, especially after me keep going on about how good the series is. This is exactly why I try to avoid out and out recommending books, especially if someone else has to pay for the privilege of not enjoying a read, when I may have received a complimentary copy. That being said, the series is definitely getting better with time, as far as I am concerned.
I haven't read a John Connolly book for many years, although I used to enjoy his dark writing. I would like to say that I shall return to his work in the future, but as you so rightly pointed out, time is the readers' greatest enemy!!
We watched a couple of episodes of the Pam Ayres series, as we lived in the Cotswolds for a time, so know most of the places she visited, a real trip down memory lane. We would probably still be living there now, if only we could have moved everything a little closer to the coast! I have to admit that I find Pam's accent so annoying, although being a Wiltshire 'moonraker', I guess my own voice must sound a little like hers. When I asked hubby if that was the case, the Hampshire 'hog' said nothing, only smiled. We haven't watched any more of the programmes since!
Have a good weekend! :)
Susan: Le Fanu is a he... at least I think so. :-) Oddly, I didn't realise he was a Victorian author, I always thought he belonged to the 20th. century, so you're not alone in not knowing much about him.
Hi Yvonne! I waste so much time on Jigidi but I go in phases with it. Sometimes I don't look at it for months and then get a sudden craze to do loads of their puzzles.
I did actually enjoy the Dee MacDonald book, so don't worry about it at all. It's just that I'm reading so many series at the moment I'm not always sure whether I'll have the time to give to new ones to read through to the end. I'm pretty sure I'll pick the next book up at some stage as I liked the two sisters in it. Time is indeed the readers' greatest enemy!
Pam Ayres' book is an absolute delight. She goes into great detail about her childhood and I'm finding it absolutely fascinating. I don't mind her accent, being Cornish I have an accent myself though I'm told it's not very pronounced unless I'm with the Cornish relatives. Mum was a Londoner so I didn't pick up a very broad accent from her when I learnt to speak I suppose.
You have a good weekend too. Bit wet!
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