October was a slightly slower reading month than usual for me, no particular reason, just taking my time with books instead of devouring them. To be honest, I enjoyed it.
Anyway, a few quick reviews.
First, The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir by Andrew Neil Macleod.
So this is the first book in a series that features a fictional idea of two very famous men, Dr. Samuel Johnson and his good friend, James Boswell. The year is 1773 and the setting, Edinburgh. There are strange things going on in the streets and cemetaries of the Scottish capital... starting when a ghoul scares the wits out of the cemetary's nightwatchman. Johnson and Boswell, with their interest in the occult, can't help but get involved. They feel that somehow Edinburgh's secret societies are involved and there is something very sinister going on in the tunnels below the streets. This had the feel of a Lovecraftian romp to me, quite daft, but hugely entertaining and a really strong sense of Edinburgh, at least it seemed so to me even though I've not been there. The book suited October perfectly with its sinister overtones and weird goings on - I'm not sure if I'll carry on with the series, there's one more available, The Stone of Destiny, we'll see, but it was a fun, spooky read.
Next, a non-fiction book, Along the Enchanted Way by William Blacker.
A few years ago I became quite interested in countries around the Balkans/Central Europe. Authors like Patrick Leigh Fermor, Nick Crane, Elizabeth Kostova started it and a couple of weeks ago my reading of Outlandish by Nick Hunt reawakened the interest because he was in Hungary on the plains. So I remembered I had this book about Romania and hoped it would not disappoint. It didn't. The author returns to Romania after being there for a while when he was younger. He ends up in the Maramures region in the north of the country where life hasn't changed since time immemorial. The village is a Saxon enclave and has been since the 12th. century or something. He settles in there with an older couple and totally immerses himself in the culture and ancient way of life and also gets to know the local gypsies, which is frowned upon by the Saxon villagers. I could go on and on about this book but I won't. I'll just say that it is gorgeous, beautfully written, atmospheric, sad, uplifting, incredibly informative about a way of life that is fast disappearing as roads are built and the 21st. century intrudes on an ancient way of life. Wonderful - 5 stars no question.
Lastly, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.
Other books read in October:
The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
To the Bright Edge of the World - Eowyn Ivey
So, six books read in October, four fiction, two non-fiction, all different and interesting and I consider it to have been not a bad reading month all told.
I also managed to finish this at long last, a 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle entitled Payment
of Taxes at Bethlehem, painted by Pieter Bruegal. Possibly the
hardest puzzle I've done although I have done quite a few... it took me two months to finish. This one's
going straight to the charity shop as I really can't imagine wanting to do it again!
So here we are in November (I won't mention the 'C' word...) and some people are doing 'Non-fiction November'. It has prompts and weekly posts and so on, which I'm not doing, but I do plan to read two or three non-fiction books if I possibly can this month. I hope you're keeping well and finding some good books to read this autumn.
33 comments:
3,000 pieces - oh my goodness. Although it does look very good.
Hi Cath, Congratulations on reading six books in October and The Enchanted Way sounds like a book worth reading and perfect for the month of Halloween since Transylvania is in Romania. There isn't enough fiction that I know of set in Eastern Europe, certainly not in the 19th century. That's a shame and the gypsy culture isn't covered much in fiction and so it's great that The Enchanted Way deals with both.
My reading month was similar. I read six books and the last one, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, took me over a week to read. It was 450 pages, and I liked it a lot, but it was so convoluted I had to take it slowly. I want to slow down on reading novels, so that I can read more short stories and nonfiction, but that seems to be a hard change to make for me.
I have been interested in Mr. Mercedes for years. I had the impression that it would be too violent, gory, gritty for me. You do mention that parts of the story are told from the killer's point of view, and I don't usually care for that. So I am still torn on whether to read it or not. It is long but I read Under the Dome and that was 1000 pages. I will keep thinking about it.
That puzzle is gorgeous. Our home is so small there is truly no space I could dedicate to putting together a puzzle. Or I would give it a try. I settle for doing Wordle and a few other puzzles on line most days.
I am still addicted to my daily online 300 piece jigsaws, so I then have no real desire to set out a 'real' puzzle. I did however finish two with 500 pieces which we bought for my MIL and which she then gave back to me when she had finished with them. I have a boxed set of 4x500 pieces too, which I believe are flora and fauna, so they might come in handy over Christmas if the television is as bad as it has been lately!
I already added 'The Lost Bookshop' to my list following your earlier post about it, but who knows when I shall get to it.
I haven't read a Stephen King book for many years now and back then, I tended to stick to the stand alone stories. I think I got put off when he switched genres a bit and came up with 'The Dark Tower' series. I must admit that I am quite intrigued by 'The Bill Hodges' trilogy, so maybe that would be a good place for me to reconnect with his writing.
Happy November Reading :)
I never officially do Nonfiction November, but I do plan on reading a few nonfiction books this month, too. And I really like the sound of The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir, both for the whole secret society thing, but also because it's set in Edinburgh. I've been there just once, but I loved it, and would love to go back someday. And both The Lost Bookshop and Outlandish are on my TBR list. :D
You had some interesting reads, Cath! I feel the same way you do about King's work, although I have so much respect for his writing ability! After reading your post, I really want to read the Blacker. I've never been to Romania, and I would really like to know more about it.
That is quite an assortment! Along the Enchanted Way has such an eye-catching cover - I would have picked it up just for that reason.
When I went to work for Penguin my boss made me read a Stephen King book because we published him in the US. I am guessing he sent me some and I must have had a few days off before I started the new job because I remember I was reading Misery in the hammock at my parents' house and something so violent happened that I recoiled in horror (literally) and fell out onto the ground. I finished it because, as you say, his books are compulsive reading. That was enough for me, however. Once he came into the office to watch the miniseries of the Stand with us. The good part was they bought candy and popcorn to make us feel as if we were at the movies. Most of us did not want to watch TV all day with our coworkers but we tried to go along with the concept. Of course, I feel everyone should get to read the books they enjoy, and King has done some good things with his money, helped other authors get recognition, and condemned Trump, so all power to him!
I can guess why the puzzle was so hard - too many pieces are the same color!
My mother and I went tonight to hear a historian speak, Heather Cox Richardson. We got there with nearly 10 minutes to spare but were told the auditorium was full and we'd have to sit in overflow space and watch it on video. I was quite disappointed but we sat obediently. Then when some VIPs did not show up, they came back and invited several of us to go into the auditorium after all. We wound up fairly near the front and the atmosphere was very festive. When Professor Richardson was introduced, people whistled and cheered. At the end, she got a standing ovation. It shows what the country has sunk to that people desperately cheer someone who writes about democracy! It is very rare to see an writer get that kind of enthusiasm, let alone someone writing serious nonfiction! She teaches at the university my brother works at here in Boston so I have been curious about her for quite a while. He was too busy to come with us, which was a pity.
I fancy reading The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir and I love that Pieter Bruegal painting - don't think I'd manage to do that jigsaw though!
Cath, I haven't read any of these except Along the Enchanted Way, which I adored. What a wonderful book it is. I wouldn't read Stephen King despite his fame and reputation. I really don't like the way his characters' minds work. Far too disturbing for me, but I'll accept he's good at his craft....haha. That's big of me, isn't it?
Hey there, Cath! Nice to hear about what you've been reading for October. I also managed 6 books for this last month and that may be my most for a month this year. My reading has been up and down and upside down. Ha! I'm hoping to be back commenting on blogs and also updating mine very soon. Happy November to you!
Sue: I really like doing large jigsaws but am starting to have problems with them because of back pain. I might have to concentrate more on smaller ones.
Kathy: I agree there really isn't enough Eastern European fiction, or non-fiction for that matter. I did enjoy Shadowland by Elizabeth Kostova, that's set in Bulgaria. And I have The Balkan trilogy by Olivia Manning to read too, but have no idea how good it is. Gypsy culture is well portrayed in Along the Enchanted Way, very sympathetically but also realistically. I learnt a lot. The book is well worth anyone's time.
Tracy: I'll be interested to hear what you think of Evelyn Hardcastle as it's a book I've seen all over the place. That change from novels to non-fiction and short stories is a tough one. Sometimes I think I'm there and then I realise I'm not. I'm going to work hard on reading less numerically but more in the way of quality next year. I have done a bit of that this year but not enough.
I wouldn't call Mr. Mercedes gory or horrific. Although what the killer did is, you just don't get a lot of detail on that. But the sections from his point of view are creepy in that he's a psychopath and I don't always deal with that very well. He is also racist (frequent use of the 'N' word), sexist and anything else you can think of. The book is really not for everyone.
Thank you re the puzzle. I do Wordle too and there's also one called Clickword that I really like.
Yvonne: I honestly think that online puzzles are an excellent alternative to real ones. I love the site I go to. Word puzzles are great online too and I wouldn't think to do a real Sudoku any more, the online ones are much more manageable. I too have a physical 4 x 500 puzzle boxed set. Mine's a Christmas one from Smiths. I shall do those in December.
I found the King book very accessible but my goodness it is not for the faint-hearted. Some of the language used is appalling and the pyschopath was frighteningly believable.
Happy November reading to you too and thanks for stopping by. xx
Lark: I see we're going to do Non-fiction November in a similar fashion. :-) The Thomas Weir book would be right up your alley I would think. I thought it was a lot of fun, I particularly liked James Boswell's wife, whose name escapes me now, but she really got in on the action.
Margot: 'Huge' respect for King's writing ability... he just makes you want to keep on turning the pages regardless of what it is you're reading.
The Blacker I would wholeheartedly recommend. I learnt so much about Romania and the Gypsy way of life. And the atmosphere of the forested area through the year was really brought home in a gorgeous way.
Constance: I'm fascinated by the fact that Stephen King came to your office when you worked for Penguin and you all sat and watched The Stand with him. You have done some very interesting things in your life. You need to write a book of anecdotes!
I looked Heather Cox Richardson up... she wrote Democracy Awakening, that's a book I don't think I've heard of but am not sure. I bet the talk was absolutely fascinating and wish I could've been there.
Margaret: The Thomas Weir book was a lot of fun and Edinburgh really featured as another character. I've not been there but I think the author got it spot-on.
Kay: Hello! Nice to see you around again. I hope you're well and look forward to a blogging update as and when.
I am very interested in Along The Enchanted Way. I wondered if it really could be nonfiction because I can't believe there are places like that in the world. It is true, though, right? Whew.
I cannot read SK. Too scary for me, and also a little bit I tried made me feel that he wasn't a very good writer. But I know he is wildly loved by his readers.
What an impressive puzzle! I really admire the ones of famous artworks, but they're so often very hard to do.
The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir sort of reminds me of the Dan Simmons chunkster "Drood" for some reason...even though the plots are not that much alike from the sounds of things. I'll have to take a look at that one.
You know already that I'm not much of a King fan anymore, but I did read this one and found it pretty good. I have a copy of Holly on hand but haven't found the stomach for King yet so I may end up giving that one away.
What a puzzle...cannot even begin to image tackling that one because of both its size and the relative drabness of its coloring. You are a champ for sure.
Val: Yes, I remembered that you'd spoken very favourably about Along the Enchanted Way so when I decided to read it I knew it ought to be quite good.
Yes exactly about Stephen King and his characters and the creepy way their minds work. It does just that... creep you out. But yes, LOL, very good at his craft.
I just had to rescue your comment from the spambox, no idea why it went there!
Nan: Well yes, apparently there are places like that in the world and it's magical in my opinion, but sadly it's fast disappearing. I think this is a book you would really enjoy becauseit's so gentle and atmospheric.
I don't think I would 'ever' recommend Stephen King to you, you would hate his books.
Jeane: I must admit I do love a good artwork jigsaw puzzle. This was rather more difficult than I was expecting though.
Sam: That's an interesting thought about Drood and the Thomas Weir book. Kind of perhaps... they're both strange in their ideas and there're tunnels in both. Drood is much the better book though, it's more serious and I loved its length and detail.
Yes, it was someone reviewing Holly on Youtube that brought the Bill Hodges series to my attention. I'm wondering why Holly is not listed with the Hodges trilogy on Fantastic Fiction and am assuming the worst or maybe he just retires.
Thanks, re the puzzle. Drab is a good word for it. Too much brown, but it was a good challenge for someone like me who enjoys difficult puzzles.
I need a dose of atmospheric reading these days, and Along the Enchanted Way sounds perfect. Will look out for a copy immediately! ;)
Fanda: You would not regret trying Along the Enchanted Way. At least I don't think so. :-)
Interesting that King is toning down his stories/novels. I don't read him at all.
Harvee: I can't say if King is toning down his stories as I haven't read any of his latest horror output. To be honest, I hardly read him at all so am no judge whatsoever. :-)
Mixed reads. Am having a good but massive book on my kindle. Finding it hard to finish.
Mystica: Huge books can take forever to read on Kindle. I hope you're making some progress.
Wow what a puzzle. I love Bruegel. So many little details to look at. You had a good reading month in Oct. I have read To the Bright Edge of the World ... which was all right & quite visual ... though I liked her first novel better called The Snow Child. I'm new to your blog and will add it now ... happy reading.
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