Once again I've been a bit AWOL for a couple of weeks due to visitors and other sundry bits and pieces. But I have been reading and managed seven books in August.
51. The Question Mark - Muriel Jaeger
52. The Girl Beneath the Sea - Andrew Mayne
53. Green for Danger - Christiana Brand
54. Have a Little Faith - Kate Bottley. This autobiography by the TV vicar was quite interesting, written in her chatty style of speaking, it was quite the insight into the ins and outs of becoming a vicar and the sort of thing that happens once you achieve your aim. Also good on how to be good to yourself mentally.
55. Jane Austen at Home - Lucy Worsley. If you want a good biography of one of the world's most famous classic authors, this one by documentary maker, Lucy Worsley, would fit the bill nicely. (Also recommend Claire Tomalin's book.) It's done by way of all the houses she lived in or were forced upon her, her sister and mother after the father died. An excellent 5 star read.
56. The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie.
This is a Poirot mystery, book number 13 I think, set in the 1930s. Poirot gets a letter, one of those taunting, 'You think you're so clever, but you can't outwit me' types of thing. It indicates that murder is about to take place and that letters of the alphabet are going to be involved. And so it proves to be, a woman with the initials AA killed in Andover, a woman with the initials BB killed in Bexhill and so on. Poirot and Hastings (back from Argentina for a spell) are powerless to do anything about it until the killer kills again and supplies them with more clues. This was Agatha Christie at her best. The idea was definitely to throw the reader off the scent and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. So clever. And beautifully witty as always with lots of verbal sparring between Poirot himself, Hastings and Japp and the addition of another police detective who has no time for Poirot's methods. (I always love the Miss Marples where a detective is dismissive of the old lady in the corner with her knitting.) This got 5 stars from me, no dithering.
57. The Uncanny Gastronomic edited by Zara-Louise Stubbs. To be reviewed but it's a solid offering of weird stories from the British Library, all of which involve food or eating. Lots of different authors, Shirley Jackson, Christina Rossetti, Saki, Angela Carter, Damon Knight (his sci-fi story, To Serve Man, was my favourite in this collection), Mark Twain and so on. I gave this 3 stars but it was a 3.5 if Goodreads would only do halves.
So that was my reading for August. Five fiction, two non-fiction. No duds, several stand-outs, The Girl Beneath the Sea, Green for Danger, Jane Austen at Home and The ABC Murders. I call that a pretty good reading month.
I'm currently reading this:
Black Sun Rising by Celia Friedman is a book I've had on my tbr pile for well over 10 years. It's that rare beast, a mix of science fiction and fantasy and as such is rather interesting. It has a good Goodreads rating so I'm optimistic. Cautiously.
So, here we are in September, one of my favourite months. As far as I'm concerned it's autumn and thus I shall be indulging in some good creepy fiction as well as lots of crime yarns. I hope you're keeping well and finding lots of good books to read.
19 comments:
Cath, nice to hear what you've been reading. I'm about to be at the end of my 'summer break' and will begin sharing my reading, etc. again soon. Happy September and like you, I'm ready for 'fall-ish' reading - creepy, gothic, etc. The ABC Murders is one of my favorite Poirot books. I will admit that I am more partial to Miss Marple, but I have a few favorite Poirots. Enjoy the fall!!
I love September too, Cath! And I'm so glad you enjoyed The ABC Murders. I do think it's one of Christie's better novels. I'm also happy that you read Green For Danger. In my opinion, that's got an innovative plot idea, and the hospital setting's well done. I've been wanting to read the Worsley, so it's good to have your reminder of it!
You did have a good month of reading in August. Nice that you didn't run into any duds. And I love autumn, too. We still have hot days here in Utah, but at least the nights are cooling off. And I look forward to that change in weather when the air gets crisp and the leaves start to turn. Happy September! :D
Kay: Nice to see you around again, look forward to seeing what you've been reading! Thank you, I'm glad you're ready for a bit of creepy, gothis fiction too. I have to admit that, like you, my preference is for Miss Marple but there are just not enough of them to keep me happy. I wish AC had written more.
Margot: September is such a nice month isn't it? I'm not a summer fan so I'm always so pleased when August is behind us. Yes, I think The ABC Murders is one of Christies's top offerings too. It's very skilfully done. The hospital in Green for Danger is incredibly well, you could just imagine yourself there... unfortunately! LOL! Lucy Worsley has also written a book about female crime writers, that might appeal to you too.
Lark: Yes, not a bad reading month at all considering I was quite busy. Yes, I had a feeling that it would still be quite hot in Utah but I'm pleased the nights are at least a bit cooler. Happy September to you too!
Seven books in August is very good and I have Lucy Worsley's Jane Austen Biography. Got it through kindle unlimited. I wanted to read it for Jane Austen July but will definitely read it in September and then comes Victober. Hope you have a very nice autumn!
I got The Girl Beneath the Sea from the library and was just wondering why! I will move it higher on my list, then reread your review, which obviously made a good impression. Today is a holiday in the US and I have been off work since Tuesday - not excited about going back tomorrow!
I may have said this here already, but I am definitely interested in Jane Austen at Home. I will probably get a copy between now and the end of the year.
Black Sun Rising sounds good, I like stories about humans from earth colonizing planets. I will wait and see how you liked it after you finish it.
I don't like September so much here because it is sometimes even warmer than the summer months, but the weather has been relatively cool here lately.
Actually I broke down and ordered a copy tonight. I started reading the sample on Amazon and I was sure I was going to like it.
I read almost all of the AC books many years ago, when I was in my teens, so for me now, they will all be re-reads, as I need to refresh some of the storylines. If I had to choose, I probably prefer Poirot to Miss Marple, however any AC book is generally 4 or 5 stars for me!
Following one of your earlier catch-up posts, I have already added 'Green For Danger' to my reading list. You have no idea just how much I have to fight the urge to download the free weekly classics from Dean Street Press, but I just know I would never get to read them!
I haven't been online too much lately and I can't see that changing for some time, so please don't be offended if I miss any of your blog or X posts. Some of my time is being spent beginning a cull of the many hundreds of physical books I have on my shelves around the place. I haven't read any of them, so you can imagine the stress and angst this exercise is causing :) I have decided to make a start with books which are obviously part of a much larger series, although only, if after some research, I think that there is too much character development and backstory for them to be read as stand-alone stories. The feeling of physical loss is tangible! :) x
Kathy: I hope you enjoy the Lucy Worsley book about Jane Austen, I thought it was excellent but it was quite densely written so took me a while to read. Yes, Victober! There are already some good posts up on YT, from Katie Lumsden and Roz from Scallydandling About the Books. I'm trying to make plans to read a couple of things, I want to read either Trollope or Wilkie Collins. Maybe Elizabeth gaskell, we'll see.
Constance: I hope you like The Girl Beneath the Sea, I'm always a bit wary as we all have different tastes and opinions about murder mysteries. It was probably quite far-fetched. LOL!
Tracy: Which one did you get, The Jane Austen book or Black Sun Rising? Both good! I'm really enjoying Black Sun Rising so far. Ugh... sorry to hear Sept. can be even warmer in California than in the summer. I did hear somewhere that a heatwave is on the way for you, I hope it's not too brutal if it arrives.
Yvonne: Yes, to be honest, most AC books are 4 or 5 stars for me. There're the odd few that aren't, the later ones usually, but those she wrote between the wars were top-notch. If forced to choose I would go for Miss Marple as my favourite but it's a close thing.
Goodness, no, I don't get offended if people miss my posts or don't comment. Life's too short for that. Like you, I'm making a start on clearing out a few books. Eventually I will have to make a decision about moving and when that happens I don't want to have heaps of work to do to downsize. So I feel your pain! It's far from easy parting with much loved books.
Considering your visitors and all, Cath, you managed to get in a whole lot of quality reading time for the month. You remind me again that I need to get back to Agatha Christie's books again soon. I keep forgetting to do that now that I finally have read a couple of her Miss Marple books. Just too much out there sometimes because it seems like all that bookish eye candy we get inundated by every month is just too tempting.
Hi Sam. Yes, all things considered, August was not a bad reading month. With AC I think it's a matter of choosing the right books. Read the really good ones that a lot of people like. Shout if you need some recommendations. It's 'so' difficult because you're right, there is so much out there and so much new fiction coming out every week, let alone every month. And us readers, we want to read it 'all'. There must be something about us... a 'curiosity' gene maybe? I don't know.
Cath, that is funny, I did not make it clear which book I got. It was the Jane Austen book; the copy I got was purchased online and has tiny print but I am still glad I got it. I can tell it will be a good read.
While I am here I will tell you that I tested positive for Covid yesterday. Glen got symptoms first and tested positive. He is feeling a bit better, but I am still feeling bad. I think it will not be a bad case but definitely no fun at all.
Tracy: Sorry I'm a bit late answering this, I've had visitors over the weekend. I'm so glad you got the JA book, it's a good one to read slowly over several weeks in my opinion.
Oddly enough, I saw your comment on one of Sam's posts... that you and Glen have Covid. Really sorry to hear that. You think it's disappeared but it hasn't at all, my daughter tells me there's a lot of it in the town where I live. I do hope you and Glen both recover quickly and don't get a bad dose. Take care. xx
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