tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39584929634832726782024-03-18T03:02:19.003+00:00Read-warblerCathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.comBlogger1123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-20136959017278947122024-03-08T10:40:00.001+00:002024-03-08T10:43:27.121+00:00Catching up<p>I'm waaaay behind with my reviews - nothing new there - so I'll do one of my 'quick catch-up' posts because otherwise I'm never going to be up to date, and books that deserve talking about will not get any mention at all. Which would be a shame.</p><p>First up, <i>Murder on Liberty Bay</i> by Dennis Shock, which is a cosy mystery book that Margot spoke about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlkNnqWlRXQ&t=21s">in this video. </a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLw2zLXc4rTTLi-A6bYqQ-U9wGWuPKqG-HqTRoeAJDq4f0Hau5989JWh4-cOH1j5_XqLVqFpZXRRjJnBDU_vyyUpMV9Okxnnwb24BOytybs6hzefek3-RihIw2LFAlDIk60x8IA8j0B1Nq_JcjZwPKJ_a8BxJN7rb7gS4ffmRxAJHPdfo6_ooe-vvaG8/s500/Libery%20Bay.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLw2zLXc4rTTLi-A6bYqQ-U9wGWuPKqG-HqTRoeAJDq4f0Hau5989JWh4-cOH1j5_XqLVqFpZXRRjJnBDU_vyyUpMV9Okxnnwb24BOytybs6hzefek3-RihIw2LFAlDIk60x8IA8j0B1Nq_JcjZwPKJ_a8BxJN7rb7gS4ffmRxAJHPdfo6_ooe-vvaG8/w125-h200/Libery%20Bay.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>Lily Pine is newly widowed, her husband, Marty, died about 12 months ago. It had always been his dearest wish to open a restaurant in the Pacific North West and to that end he had actually bought a place in the town of Poulsbo on the coast of Washington State. Now Lily feels up to going there to sort things out and actually make Marty's dream come true by getting the business going. What she doesn't bargain for is finding a dead body on the premises on her first day there. Wanting to get her business going as soon as she can, Lily gets involved in the solving of the murder and also finds herself with a couple of new admirers. So this was a fun, cosy mystery in an absolutely wonderful setting - coastal, mountains behind etc. what's not to love? I'm not the biggest cosy mystery fan, preferring my murder stories with a bit more edge, but I liked this a lot with its touch of romance, interesting characters and a plot where I had no idea until the end who had done the victim in. Recommend for cosy fans. <br /><p></p><p> </p><p>Next, <i>Breaking Creed</i> by Alex Kava. I'm not sure where I heard about this series but feel it has to be on Lark's blog. Anyway, this is book 1 in an 8 book series and there's also a previous series about Maggie O'Dell, an FBI agent who also features heavily in <i>Breaking Creed</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsUQNtRF9tGSy0feezUbLBBaVdlSVNdtCmRhUUKNoRuqdcAXgeMkfT5MrX9SXF69MXfocQMpFbmdwPUlfhpfYEkUBByY-BvL8My3GUn-o_X4lnYoBVWzxr0fIZa0dil_jaE1dor00XmaSY1b9QproYcfN3TEP3hIIUvh7DY6GGDZqEJtVh0DK5nDFqyg/s475/Breaking.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsUQNtRF9tGSy0feezUbLBBaVdlSVNdtCmRhUUKNoRuqdcAXgeMkfT5MrX9SXF69MXfocQMpFbmdwPUlfhpfYEkUBByY-BvL8My3GUn-o_X4lnYoBVWzxr0fIZa0dil_jaE1dor00XmaSY1b9QproYcfN3TEP3hIIUvh7DY6GGDZqEJtVh0DK5nDFqyg/w133-h200/Breaking.gif" width="133" /></a></div><p>Ryder Creed is a US army veteran who owns working dogs. He and his business partner hire them out for various jobs such as searching for drugs at airports and ports or at sea. On one such trip he takes Gracie, his Jack Russell terrier, and discovers a boat with hold full of trafficked children. Not long after, he rescues a panicked 14 year old girl at an airport and gives her shelter. What's the connection? It's not long before Maggie O'Dell, a previous associate who works with the FBI, becomes involved and Ryder and his dogs are called upon to do more than search for drugs and then walk away. I 'really' liked this first book in a new to me K9 series. It's quite hard hitting. Be warned, there's quite a bit about drug mules and it's not pleasant. A cosy this is 'not'. I liked Ryder a lot, Maggie too and the dogs were great, especially Gracie. I feel this could become a very good series and felt very lucky when I popped to the library last weekend and was able to grab the next few books. Happy Camper! </p><p> </p><p>Lastly, not a crime book but historical fiction this time. <i>The Last Bookshop in London</i> by Madeline Martin was amongst several left for me by Constance from <a href="https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/">Staircase Wit</a> when she visited us a couple of years ago. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqRqUWJgN9AOJYXs5U1Ni2rSLwZdNCC7LbtnB-97Q33eWxllWt9NkIpb_AcE-3oMlwioOwauR1WPuKxzSZEXVuh1TiX5kWGbp5IetA2qq_pmPSuTW67n3BwmhlEQx6E0yT4uCxM-mWSovonw5u4EwRzKjFG4MNsxnOQySDm9dv_5VtPXrW1ZJ3qS2shw/s475/London%20bookshop.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqRqUWJgN9AOJYXs5U1Ni2rSLwZdNCC7LbtnB-97Q33eWxllWt9NkIpb_AcE-3oMlwioOwauR1WPuKxzSZEXVuh1TiX5kWGbp5IetA2qq_pmPSuTW67n3BwmhlEQx6E0yT4uCxM-mWSovonw5u4EwRzKjFG4MNsxnOQySDm9dv_5VtPXrW1ZJ3qS2shw/w133-h200/London%20bookshop.png" width="133" /></a></div><p>Grace Bennett has moved to London from Norfolk with her friend, Viv. It's August 1939 and everyone knows another terrible war is imminent. They move in with a friend of Grace's late mother, Mrs. Weatherford, and her son, Colin who is in his early twenties and of fighting age. Viv gets her dream job working in Harrods because she fakes a letter of recommendation. Grace's mean-spirited uncle would not give her one so Mrs. Weatherford arranges a job in a bookshop her. The owner of the bookshop, Mr. Evans, doesn't really want her there but she makes the best of it and starts to bring in changes which bring new customers. And then war with Germany is declared. I wasn't sure about this one at first. It seemed rather pedestrian. But then I got sucked into Grace's life at the bookshop, her relationships, the people who find the shop, how she 'does her bit' for the war effort and so on. The book is quite strong on the devastation of the The Blitz (if you want really strong I would recommend <i>Life After Life</i> by Kate Atkinson or <i>Dear Mrs. Bird</i> by A.J. Pearce) and what it did to people. Unimaginable for those of us lucky enough not to have lived through it. It's very much a 'found family' story, which is one of my favourite 'tropes'. To be honest, this is a 3.5 book which I upgraded to 4 because it brought me to tears a couple of times, despite the writing being a tiny bit average. One for my personal challenge of reading half a dozen 'world war' books this year.</p><p>So that's it, up to date, except that I've nearly finished another book which<i> </i>is<i> A Death in the Parish</i>, book 2 in the Reverand Richard Coles' 'Cannon Clement' series. Enjoying this a lot. Hope you're well and enjoying some good books this month. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-60374410664322385312024-03-02T16:57:00.000+00:002024-03-02T16:57:14.925+00:00Sharing a YT video. 'Why Read Fiction Books?'<p></p><p></p><p><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/xRSL-7CVEjY?si=I41fe8tfDIOhzt2F" width="480"></iframe></p><p>If you have ten minutes to spare you could do a lot worse than spend it watching this excellent Youtube video from Rosamunde Bott at <i>Books from my Bookshelf</i>. In it she explains, very eloquently, why we should all read
fiction, the joys and the benefits and what people who don't read it
are missing out on. Beautifully put. </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-84455178125667416082024-03-01T11:02:00.000+00:002024-03-01T11:02:18.920+00:00Books read in February<p>Just about everyone is wondering where February went... not just the old and knackered, like me, 'everyone'. Perhaps time really is speeding up (or I read too much speculative fiction...)</p><p>Anyway. Books read in February numbered nine and these are they.</p><p>9. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/02/several-crime-titles.html">The Christie Curse - Victoria Abbott</a></p><p>10. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/02/maiden-voyages-by-sian-evans.html">Maiden Voyages - Sian Evans</a></p><p>11. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-few-short-reviews.html">Murder at the Spring Ball - Benedict Brown</a> </p><p>12. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-few-short-reviews.html">Dr. Thorne - Anthony Trollope</a></p><p>13. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-few-short-reviews.html">Northbridge Rectory - Angela Thirkell</a> </p><p>14. <i>The Grand Tour</i> - Agatha Christie. An enjoyable recounting of the famous author's voyage around the world in 1922 to advertise the upcoming British Empire Exhibition of 1924. Interesting, but not quite as fascinating as I had hoped. <i>Come, Tell Me How You Live</i> and her autobiography are much better examples of her non-fiction writing in my opinion. Mind, the book is based on her letters back to her family so you perhaps wouldn't expect the same kind of writing you get in her books.</p><p>15. <i>The Lure of Atlantis: Strange Tales of the Sunken Continent</i>, edited by Michael Wheatley. To be reviewed. Not bad, some good stories and some average ones, as is the norm with short story collections.<br /></p><p>16. <i>Murder on Liberty Bay</i> - Dennis Shock. To be reviewed, a fun, cozy mystery novella, set in Washington State and recommended by Margot Kinberg <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlkNnqWlRXQ&t=4s">HERE.</a><br /></p><p>17. <i>Breaking Creed</i> - Alex Kava. To be reviewed but it was 'really' good, one of a number of K9 mystery series that are prevalent at the moment. Grabbing books two and three from the library when I can. <br /></p><p>So, quite a good reading month. Seven fiction titles, two non-fiction. There was some old-fashioned English village and stately home reading (three books) but other than that I've been right around the world and back again on boats and visited three US states - Florida, Washington state and New York state. Plus, had a good ole poke around looking for Atlantis. Can't ask for more than that. </p><p>So much so that I can't name a favourite book this month. Just a couple were not as good as I was hoping but all the rest were top-notch. </p><p>Current reads are these two:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTqJycFxto2HvQxHHhKmixPfaTDFw5M0yV7V7ZOpWJOTTnKwLW1kytUuTWxdiS7jHsjESin3T6IIdLfEsFm9M-gB6JX4-szwfnqGymU2s83Euro8wmN_2Mtcv0NOhu3Z2sR07KSeKzPrSxGLIF_NHxkRK_DPjV1dazQ0_cKYeTDVWVuUk_FE0P7njlDE/s2560/Sea%20mysteries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1707" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTqJycFxto2HvQxHHhKmixPfaTDFw5M0yV7V7ZOpWJOTTnKwLW1kytUuTWxdiS7jHsjESin3T6IIdLfEsFm9M-gB6JX4-szwfnqGymU2s83Euro8wmN_2Mtcv0NOhu3Z2sR07KSeKzPrSxGLIF_NHxkRK_DPjV1dazQ0_cKYeTDVWVuUk_FE0P7njlDE/w133-h200/Sea%20mysteries.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEige_SaMClGO-sIFFUtPufItwk3pnyOsiKFR7oolx_bwyBgipWNsh3s_dFY-FKxJwdI879Qe9mngUqgmKiDnjGY4gXagWwaeV3yZ_0x-I4slya5KwIPMB0fD2OqmHSRjenZPugrYpG6JB5LqShvVBEep0A0iBssPRSJqhrEp5-XOLyJAqYkM_tVT9KOsCA/s500/Cyril%20Hare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEige_SaMClGO-sIFFUtPufItwk3pnyOsiKFR7oolx_bwyBgipWNsh3s_dFY-FKxJwdI879Qe9mngUqgmKiDnjGY4gXagWwaeV3yZ_0x-I4slya5KwIPMB0fD2OqmHSRjenZPugrYpG6JB5LqShvVBEep0A0iBssPRSJqhrEp5-XOLyJAqYkM_tVT9KOsCA/w126-h200/Cyril%20Hare.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><br /><p>Both of which are 'dip in and out of' books being slowly read on my KF. I'm really at that 'choose a new book' stage and that comes with my usual dithering and prevaricating. Too much choice. </p><p>I hope you all find lots of brilliant books to read in March and are keeping well.</p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-35051075030693902202024-02-21T16:17:00.000+00:002024-02-21T16:17:47.045+00:00A few short reviews<p>Time for several short reviews to get myself caught up.</p><p>First up, <i>Murder at the Spring Ball</i> by Benedict Brown.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbvfHCnv9bvRP9obFWeMDFtmJZdDz2LJy_sW9C8JG57fX1jXQO1xBjj7koAMmv_1qmcoWLeFMEZ9OZ6PgCILsx_IQ-U_VIJRUSAVs7vP4AG4AGpIioUEH36WW-v-m9HPBg_Ha0GGcM7-NUBPYXrQxayY17J6k_CUq7uULCZ8n9NBEpy56aNt14k9XvKc/s2560/Spring%20Ball.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbvfHCnv9bvRP9obFWeMDFtmJZdDz2LJy_sW9C8JG57fX1jXQO1xBjj7koAMmv_1qmcoWLeFMEZ9OZ6PgCILsx_IQ-U_VIJRUSAVs7vP4AG4AGpIioUEH36WW-v-m9HPBg_Ha0GGcM7-NUBPYXrQxayY17J6k_CUq7uULCZ8n9NBEpy56aNt14k9XvKc/w125-h200/Spring%20Ball.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><p>It's 1925 and Lord Edgington is a retired police detective aged 76. He lost his wife ten years ago and for that ten years he's been frozen in time rather - a recluse in a huge mansion of a house. Waking up from this self-induced coma he decides on a magnificent ball such as the hall used to host in the old days. What he doesn't bargain for is for his sister to keel over, dead, poisoned by the champagne she couldn't wait to sample before everyone else. It's clear someone is after killing the whole family off. Lord Edgington, feeling the actual police are incompetent, sets about solving the murder himself along with the help of his teenage grandson, Christopher. This was huge fun and if you enjoy a country-house murder mystery you might like this. Lord Edgingtom is a bit autocratic but very clever and I like how he takes Christopher under his wing, believing in him when no else has time for the boy. There's a nice sense of a country mansion and a load of grasping, not very pleasant relatives, all with their own secrets of course. I'll definitely be reading on in this series as book 2, <i>A Body at a Boarding School</i>, is, as the title suggests, a 'school' mystery and I'm always up for one of those. </p><p>Next, a classic, <i>Dr. Thorne</i> by Anthony Trollope which is the third book in his <i>Chronicles of Barsetshire</i> series. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dFUvZsbt07jin-IMEjXTMQGr5-59jYOz0JsoAKSAvbqo5sPD9HLS0kVRk6pYMaXoppW7wkasEB8f3kX50iCFQtKDgD_5-huVqTrcB1vLpTUsBLFyaqKSuPkmMKkd4vw75oM9Z2o9NbKX4G1Kvypl04CNsLqgU6B4r48tLT61R3M2ncrLYT6Jlo6tOhQ/s474/Dr.%20Thorne.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="311" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dFUvZsbt07jin-IMEjXTMQGr5-59jYOz0JsoAKSAvbqo5sPD9HLS0kVRk6pYMaXoppW7wkasEB8f3kX50iCFQtKDgD_5-huVqTrcB1vLpTUsBLFyaqKSuPkmMKkd4vw75oM9Z2o9NbKX4G1Kvypl04CNsLqgU6B4r48tLT61R3M2ncrLYT6Jlo6tOhQ/w131-h200/Dr.%20Thorne.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>Mary Thorne is Dr. Thorne's illegitimate neice and she's lived with him most of her life. Her father was the doctor's brother, Henry, her mother, Mary Scatcherd, from a rough family in the local town. Henry was not much good, and ended up being accidently killed by Mary Scatcherd's brother who went to prison for his crime. Dr. Thorne persuaded Mary to leave the baby with him and go off to America with her fiancé who wanted Mary, but not someone else's baby. Fast forward 20 years and the two live in Greshamsbury and are very friendly with the local squire. Young Mary is in fact almost part of the family and very attached to two of the daughters and the eldest son, Frank Gresham, is in love with Mary Thorne. This is Not Good. Frank's father has squandered money left, right and centre and in order to save the house and the family, Frank must marry money. Mary Thorne has none. So that's the setting for what I gather Trollope felt was his best novel. I can see why, it's beautifully written, the problems and obstacles are so engrossing to read about and I loved it. Hypocrisy is very much the theme of this book, especially around money and blood. Some of these upper crust families desperately needed money so they happily married someone rich with a trade background - perhaps not 'happily' but 'needs must' sort of thing - but heaven forbid one of them wanted to marry a delightful girl from a good family but uncertain parentage and no money. And of course the one to really suffer is not the squire's family but Mary... the details of which I won't go into because of spoilers. Trollope relates the story of Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham in an extremely engaging manner, really funny in places and I loved his authorial voice breaking in occasionally to reassure or explain. Superb, and I will read more by Trollope this year, possibly the next book in the Barsetshire series, <i>Framley Parsonage</i>, or one of his multitude of standalone books. I'd completely forgotten what a brillaint writer he was. </p><p>Lastly, <i>Northbridge Rectory</i> by Angela Thirkell.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlV-KTAggG3jpWSd_8z0Ab4uT3RK35Y8NK5PHv1paAQf_gaAeGjb4675Bn5_IzWZqML0Mehwo7mSHxkvZZOaSbTs8eCgBzUT5c3XVtIZEwGEV4kAmh9j_Xmi9eXRpI_zKH48SzZ1f94d-cT4no4NA_-5wcaPnhQNIOdmz80ra64B-RvDXNEVBCWj7d1c/s499/Northbridge.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlV-KTAggG3jpWSd_8z0Ab4uT3RK35Y8NK5PHv1paAQf_gaAeGjb4675Bn5_IzWZqML0Mehwo7mSHxkvZZOaSbTs8eCgBzUT5c3XVtIZEwGEV4kAmh9j_Xmi9eXRpI_zKH48SzZ1f94d-cT4no4NA_-5wcaPnhQNIOdmz80ra64B-RvDXNEVBCWj7d1c/w127-h200/Northbridge.jpg" width="127" /></a></div><p>So, this is weird because of course I knew that Angela Thirkell set her books in Trollope's fictional Barsetshire but I didn't expect to see families from <i>Dr. Thorne</i> still around and getting mentions in <i>Northbridge Rectory</i>. This is book 10 in her series and the second book which features WW2. Verena Villars is the wife of the local rector in Northbridge. They've been there a year or so and have already settled into their new home and have a lot of friends. Officers from the services are also billeted with them and then there's the vicarage staff who bring all their various trials and tribulations to Verena. This isn't a book where a lot happens, it's about people and how they interact with each other, but unlike most of Thirkell's output this one also has to cover how people coped during the war years. I think it's definitely the funniest one I've read so far. Miss Pemberton protecting Mr. Downing, her academic lodger, who writes books about Provencal troubadoors that no one reads, from other women is hilarious. Of course he gets away, but is that what he really wants? There's Mrs. Turner and her two nieces, whose home is comfortable and welcoming but sheer bedlam. And Mr. Holden, billeted with the Villars, and who has a bad crush on Verena and keeps telling her she looks tired. The vicar is of course pretty much oblivious to all of this... This is now one of my favourites from the series. Thirkell's narrative voice is so funny it reminded me slightly of <i>The Diary of a Provincial Lady</i> by E.M. Delafield. I wondered where Barsetshire actually was, where Trollope had in mind, and I gather it was Somerset and possibly parts of Dorset and Wiltshire and that does indeed 'feel' right... to me anyway. </p><p>So three good books and all authors with the potential for a 'lot' more reading this year. Can't wait. <br /></p><p>I hope your February reading is going as well as mine? </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-20958302835667653392024-02-11T16:04:00.000+00:002024-02-11T16:04:48.607+00:00Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans<p>My second 5 star non-fiction read of the year is, <i>Maiden Voyages</i> by Sian Evans. I didn't find this book myself, I saw it mentioned on Susan at <a href="http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2023/11/anchors-aweigh-top-ten-books-on-my-tbr.html">Bloggin' 'bout Books</a> 'Top Ten Tuesday' post for the 28th. November, '23, featuring 'books set at sea'. Being a sucker for a sea-based book I reserved it from the library and am very pleased I did.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnz9X5NAudeG2SesHSGMNGnitOHujIr6hV5HABJIegPgUkOfzzbh2PLQudsZcHhHckYiHqlP7pI6yLYQeu8Ob5sL-YK_gX4G0s58QuwaPtQFrR2CKZlgfhzXSeh6R9MsUurIDaVuyKocEpmeV5gRySn1KWkpBe_bfW3OdTyrYCw05UF5W5HmRuxkU3mYo/s674/Maiden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="431" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnz9X5NAudeG2SesHSGMNGnitOHujIr6hV5HABJIegPgUkOfzzbh2PLQudsZcHhHckYiHqlP7pI6yLYQeu8Ob5sL-YK_gX4G0s58QuwaPtQFrR2CKZlgfhzXSeh6R9MsUurIDaVuyKocEpmeV5gRySn1KWkpBe_bfW3OdTyrYCw05UF5W5HmRuxkU3mYo/s320/Maiden.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><p>Up until the middle of the 20th. century (can't believe I'm talking about when I was actually 'born') if you wanted to cross the Atlantic it was pretty certain that your method of transport would be an ocean-going liner. By that time women were an accepted part of the deal, there were stewardesses to look after the wealthy and conductresses who kept an eye on female passangers in steerage. But of course, this wasn't always so. </p><p>It was Cunard who first started employing women to look after women onboard ship when it was realised that in Victorian times it was not appropriate for a male steward to, for instance, look after the captain's wife. And then women passengers started to cross the Atlantic in ever greater numbers. Wealthy socialites first, then women with responsible jobs such as fashion buyers for the big stores, female authors promoting their books and, most of all, an absolute stream of women in steerage, emigrating to the USA, some with their families, some alone: they all needed looking after, guidance, or protection. </p><p>The women they took on for these stewardess type roles were often women desperate for a job. Violet Jessop, for instance, went to sea to support an ailing mother and five siblings. The shipping company's policy was actually to employ middle-aged women who were less attractive to the male crew. Violet was unusual in that she was young and pretty. She ended up with the moniker of the 'Unsinkable Stewardess' because she not only survived the sinking of the <i>Titanic,</i> she survived two other maritime disasters as well.</p><p>Violet is just one of the female ocean-going crew featured in this book. Edith Sowerbutts was the very first female conductress. Anne Runcie and Mary Ann McLeod (the mother of Donald Trump) sailed the Atlantic as hairdressers and beauticians to the wealthy. Hilda James, a famous swimmer of her day, went to work on the liners as a swimming instructor. Victoria Drummond the first female sea-going engineer, saved the cargo ship <i>Bonita</i> from sinking when it was attacked mid-Atlantic by a German bomber in 1941 and got herself an MBE. The list is fascinating and I love the way the author tells the story of a few of these women and their experiences at sea, throughout the book.</p><p>The thing I really loved was the history recounted as it affected ocean travel. So, of course the two world wars are covered extensively. But we also hear about the sinking of the Titanic, the Lusitania in WW1, Prohibition, Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson, GI brides. Women such as Nancy Astor, Nancy Cunard, Martha Gellhorn, Josephine Baker, Tallulah Bankhead, have their stories related in a very readable and accessible manner. Like all excellent books it has made me want to read more on some of the subjects the author touched on, and that actually includes most of the subjects and people I've listed. For me that's the sign of an excellent book. <br /></p><p>The author suggests that millions of women's lives were profoundly changed by sea travel in the first half of the 20th. century. She illustrates that brilliantly in <i>Maiden Voyages</i> and I can't recommend it highly enough. <br /></p><p> <br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-65848013164790707722024-02-05T16:03:00.000+00:002024-02-05T16:03:06.574+00:00Several crime titles<p>I'm behind with my crime fiction reviews - nothing new there - so this is a three-book post today, starting with <i>A Death in Door County</i> by Annalise Ryan.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90F35Y984wTP8bNSbKFKbofcIAa04cL5uNgEuU5U_fDGFAW8HmoL1vgz2IhgD7SqR9y3C2Cq-heNrAYvJ4qCAWANxURUk4QIxJQ4mU2PicK-OmUc-ejRVel0J1ILPI9gfoexufvLvI7gcaZxZwGZPPtz-FY2pk8X1I4-hdZEpnF1dKF87Bt_UHP5Yqtk/s5550/Door%20county.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5550" data-original-width="3675" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90F35Y984wTP8bNSbKFKbofcIAa04cL5uNgEuU5U_fDGFAW8HmoL1vgz2IhgD7SqR9y3C2Cq-heNrAYvJ4qCAWANxURUk4QIxJQ4mU2PicK-OmUc-ejRVel0J1ILPI9gfoexufvLvI7gcaZxZwGZPPtz-FY2pk8X1I4-hdZEpnF1dKF87Bt_UHP5Yqtk/w133-h200/Door%20county.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Morgan Carter is a cryptozoologist (those who search for legendary animals like The Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot) who lives in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan. She owns a bookstore there but it's not your usual bookshop, it also sells weird and macabre items. Morgan is enlisted to help the local police when a dead body is washed up that has some huge bite marks on it. There's always been rumours of something Nessie-like in their area of the lake and, although the police chief doesn't really believe it, he needs an expert to advise him. When a second body, likewise mutilated, turns up, the police chief has no choice but to seriously review his beliefs. So this mystery had an excellent sense of place, the lake where it joins Green Bay, known as Death's Door, the islands, cliffs, forests, beaches... beautiful. I liked the budding relationship between Jon Flanders and Morgan, and the dog, Newt, was lovely. I wish there had been more of the cryptozoologist element though because that was why I picked it up. But it seemed like not even the cryptozoologist herself took that seriously. Anyway, a good start to a new series, book two is out already, <i>Death in the Dark Woods</i>, and I may pick that up when the price comes down a bit. <p></p><p>Next, <i>Elephants Can Remember</i> by Agatha Christie. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1cTQWR6Seen-dGfy77OfCdtOCfWdzPQjLsuDw2okZr8rCximDFWCXyPUZ4Xqm7cTll14Iuc46OGtlp4SJTtfbKSMrcNstFYT9Um4JF6UYyPqqSBRa_p8z9kMi3Xnf_8wwCqYKOKwQlUGTApwWAQV-TYE_lgQhZZwMsdyRqosOoSn0CKHpmjYVxwww7E/s1053/Elephants.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="654" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1cTQWR6Seen-dGfy77OfCdtOCfWdzPQjLsuDw2okZr8rCximDFWCXyPUZ4Xqm7cTll14Iuc46OGtlp4SJTtfbKSMrcNstFYT9Um4JF6UYyPqqSBRa_p8z9kMi3Xnf_8wwCqYKOKwQlUGTApwWAQV-TYE_lgQhZZwMsdyRqosOoSn0CKHpmjYVxwww7E/w124-h200/Elephants.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><p>So, this is number 42 in Christie's Hercule Poirot series but for me it was as much an Ariadne Oliver mystery as a Poirot one. She goes off to a literary lunch, which is not really her thing, but while there she's approached by an obnoxious woman whose son is engaged to a girl whose parents died in mysterious circumstances, 15 years ago. They were found dead at the top of a cliff in Devon, both shot, but the police had no idea who shot whom first and have never been able to discover the answer. The woman wants Ariadne to try to find out as the fiance is Ariadne's God daughter. At a loss, the writer enlists the help of Hercule Poirot to help her find some 'elephants' who might recall some pertinent clues as to what happened. This one has got some rather poor star ratings on Goodreads, people seem to think it's not great because Christie was approaching the end of her life when she was was writing it and maybe losing some of her faculties. Be that as it may, I still enjoyed it very much. I like Ariadne Oliver as a character anyway and always think she brings quite a lot to a Poirot mystery. I liked how, between the two of them, they eventually managed to tease the truth out of people, Ariadne using her doggedly determined questioning skills and Poirot his little grey cells. Not the best Christie I've read but still an enjoyable read.</p><p>And finally, my first book for February, <i>The Christie Curse</i> by Victoria Abbott.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qc6KuZJqkrRf75txxR9gaFAsDaW8ujbZfhRKncAPZs0vnSk9nSK_JEaCTebVox9MstSgRncZUXxFvXMEsWhjP1CtNEfmBH05OAzi51Su42sV4dZt3_UK6YHr-VojXMuwVpkao8zOJWdJuZ6evJcej7jaQOL0ah2KPsee6JV_dAsQZtn4t3eOPNp4Vpc/s400/Christie%20Curse.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="248" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qc6KuZJqkrRf75txxR9gaFAsDaW8ujbZfhRKncAPZs0vnSk9nSK_JEaCTebVox9MstSgRncZUXxFvXMEsWhjP1CtNEfmBH05OAzi51Su42sV4dZt3_UK6YHr-VojXMuwVpkao8zOJWdJuZ6evJcej7jaQOL0ah2KPsee6JV_dAsQZtn4t3eOPNp4Vpc/w124-h200/Christie%20Curse.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><p>Jordan Bingham is back in her home-town of Harrison Falls, in the north of New York state. She's looking for a job that doesn't involve living with her uncles, who she adores but who exist on the wrong side of the law a lot of the time. She answers an ad from Vera Van Alst, an elderly invalid who lives in a huge house on the outskirts of town. Vera is a serious book collector who got wind of a possible secret manuscript of a play Agatha Christie might have written during her eleven day disappearance. Jordan gets the job and sets about her search only to dicover that her predecessor died in mysterious circumstances in New York City. Then people around her start to get attacked and Jordan realises this is not the cushy number she was hoping for. So, this was a fun 'Cosy', I suppose you would call it, which is not always my thing, but this was well written and engaging with some interesting characters. I liked cranky Vera, and the uncles, and was very intrigued by the cat coming and going. Also I had no idea until the end what was going on and why. There was a very nice sense of place too, made more so by the fact that I have been to the area. All in all, a fun read and likely as not I'll read on. There are only 5 books, all concerning famous crime authors such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Rex Stout etc. The mother and daughter team seem to have written these 5 and then stopped. I always wonder 'why?' when that happens.</p><p>Anyway. I hope your February is going well, and that you're finding some good books to read.</p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-40074415738073027832024-01-31T11:02:00.000+00:002024-01-31T11:02:19.274+00:00Books read in January<p>My reading year has started quite nicely. I decided I wanted to scale back a bit and read a bit less compulsively in 2024, so this winter I'm enjoying a bit of jigsaw puzzling and reacquainting myself with cryptic crosswords as well as reading books and so far it's working, apart from the fact that I don't seem to be 'buying' less books. I'm just a sucker for a book bargain, that's my problem. <br /></p><p>So, I read eight books in January and these are they:</p><p>1. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/01/first-books-of-2024.html">The Awakening - Nora Roberts</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/01/first-books-of-2024.html">Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky</a></p><p>3. <i>Nature Tales for Winter Nights</i> ed. by Nancy Campbell. This promised more than it delivered, and annoyed me because it gave the title of the essay or short piece of fiction at the start but not the author. So you had to flick to the end of the piece to see who had written it. There were, however, one or two very nice pieces in this collection and I'm sure it would suit others more than it did me. <br /></p><p>4.<i> Vesper Flights</i> - Helen MacDonald. More enjoyable nature themed essays than the previous book, beautiful writing and reflections on nature in modern life. </p><p>5. <i>The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes</i> - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A reread brought on by watching Lucy Worsley's latest three part documentary series on the author. It was so well done and so watchable. She mentioned that this was the last collection written by Conan-Doyle and how weird it was, so of course I had to grab my copy for a reread. Very good and yes, very weird! Recommend <i>The Adventure of the Creeping Man</i> and the Sussex Vampire one but all are good. <br /></p><p>6. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/01/mudlarking-by-lara-maiklem.html">Mudlarking - Lara Maiklem</a></p><p>7. <i>A Death in Door County</i> - Annelise Ryan (to be reviewed)</p><p>8. <i>Elephants Can Remember</i> - Agatha Christie (to be reviewed) </p><p>So, five fiction books read and three non-fiction. I've mixed the fiction genres quite a bit - fantasy, sci-fi, murder mysteries and short stories. Plus three non-fictions, one of which will make my best non-fiction list of 2024. So that's not bad, is it? You can't sask for much more than that. <br /></p><p>Two favourite books this month:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsWIRzB6kJrlmeFX6uxfy5bNJ8qKBmnaUHhXVCUJmnF831zaH3qZX4nY7eXLuU4ZNnVb-5UIlJCJHSw1HMX_Tfp1Ar7s-0IhmDYPkDVWZXuU8GRxVoayQHUhe7merF6pk2jK9CKq29XNt7Jj0eCEJybIghbiusUBsk2yvmR-rMbK4CQtVSefA9gyTRIg/s400/Children%20of%20Time.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsWIRzB6kJrlmeFX6uxfy5bNJ8qKBmnaUHhXVCUJmnF831zaH3qZX4nY7eXLuU4ZNnVb-5UIlJCJHSw1HMX_Tfp1Ar7s-0IhmDYPkDVWZXuU8GRxVoayQHUhe7merF6pk2jK9CKq29XNt7Jj0eCEJybIghbiusUBsk2yvmR-rMbK4CQtVSefA9gyTRIg/w134-h200/Children%20of%20Time.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><br /><p>And:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeDsJxrqpM1hyT7fWLa7tfV2PFBPf9nGKOWG1-v0CeGGyWf1j4acYpd3OnJtTZN2OL9JdEmgzHeBnXOR2iNYLiWeOxagaF6bnbzzvps6oChXhsZSjPvoKXZDy17hLAwRG8KBB2IxJaa83XCNBdB6LtF-LPkTyaMtHnab1wfpLRyIEH0_XVdfLCxIBB10/s500/Mudlarking.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeDsJxrqpM1hyT7fWLa7tfV2PFBPf9nGKOWG1-v0CeGGyWf1j4acYpd3OnJtTZN2OL9JdEmgzHeBnXOR2iNYLiWeOxagaF6bnbzzvps6oChXhsZSjPvoKXZDy17hLAwRG8KBB2IxJaa83XCNBdB6LtF-LPkTyaMtHnab1wfpLRyIEH0_XVdfLCxIBB10/w131-h200/Mudlarking.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>So, onwards into February, and I'm currently reading these two:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Xbpy5BdBK7XlFqpeHZxS8_pTVPtC3LjMyUJcj9_cR-2NrEDKo0Yki6zcQ441h7ftHZGm9lEXlLgYYNybmAlvijUAAKs2214iNua7ziM7wqCAM8KeeBv3b0hcPed7Dk03cVhE8GDV378TmFQ-DwFnMG53MWpxiI5AGetE4zDPPGLeK4p8PHRV-mtswFk/s400/Christie%20Curse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="248" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Xbpy5BdBK7XlFqpeHZxS8_pTVPtC3LjMyUJcj9_cR-2NrEDKo0Yki6zcQ441h7ftHZGm9lEXlLgYYNybmAlvijUAAKs2214iNua7ziM7wqCAM8KeeBv3b0hcPed7Dk03cVhE8GDV378TmFQ-DwFnMG53MWpxiI5AGetE4zDPPGLeK4p8PHRV-mtswFk/w124-h200/Christie%20Curse.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cHmlSx09rGX8cHxZr5fA5uWafunamhYMkggSA19vEbR8KJNWxN8oOza6qyH4pH6vZiWl_3I7kLuuCp2H8K4ik6wf52vpT2A0Pj6OOxSru-j0F2GKJHQyMlxC4a5uXVEar7OK_kJaaN62v8vOK6cPXDjvWXiQ56y3ZAuHbYav7ZLaKsYX606Vccxz9eE/s674/Maiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="431" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cHmlSx09rGX8cHxZr5fA5uWafunamhYMkggSA19vEbR8KJNWxN8oOza6qyH4pH6vZiWl_3I7kLuuCp2H8K4ik6wf52vpT2A0Pj6OOxSru-j0F2GKJHQyMlxC4a5uXVEar7OK_kJaaN62v8vOK6cPXDjvWXiQ56y3ZAuHbYav7ZLaKsYX606Vccxz9eE/w128-h200/Maiden.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Happy reading in February. It's our cold month in the UK and I gather there has been some mention of snow mid-month. We'll see, I have a hibernating nature in winter so that may be what my February plans are. Stay safe. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-32212805707826980702024-01-24T12:03:00.000+00:002024-01-24T12:03:15.039+00:00Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem<p>I'm always on the look-out for readable, fun, but informative, non-fiction books to read. I was lucky last year and found quite a few, some of which I featured in my <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2024/01/best-non-fiction-2023.html">Best Non-fiction of 2023</a> post. I say 'lucky' but I put a lot of effort in finding just the right books that will keep me reading day after day and not bore me to tears. So far this month I've read three non-fiction books and it was when I got to the third one that I found my first 'gem'. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ABXo2wt_-3rxJPe-F7EMDo35lNZMtEP69mtj_4s2hDdoy6Np4bI5ZLJHbRvhH2ZOU1HatJbpL2_EH5kNtnu3gRxY6zudEgBXmapZt3rUEe2xmPR8nsuS0hS6hPQmC-kM76L52TiOJBnmr1GglfZr8SMEG6aEm6UqJ74sc4CLQKBEyAxN1YPhc9BcJV8/s500/Mudlarking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ABXo2wt_-3rxJPe-F7EMDo35lNZMtEP69mtj_4s2hDdoy6Np4bI5ZLJHbRvhH2ZOU1HatJbpL2_EH5kNtnu3gRxY6zudEgBXmapZt3rUEe2xmPR8nsuS0hS6hPQmC-kM76L52TiOJBnmr1GglfZr8SMEG6aEm6UqJ74sc4CLQKBEyAxN1YPhc9BcJV8/s320/Mudlarking.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames</i> by Lara Maiklem is the author's debut book, first published in 2019. There was a bit of hype about it, I seem to recall. I saw articles on TV, thought it sounded like my kind of quirky read, and made a mental note to read it at some stage: here I am in 2024 just getting to it. Better late than never but also I'm a great believer in the idea that the appropriate book will find you when the time is right to read it. </p><p>Lara Maiklem is not actually a born and bred Londoner, she was a farm
girl drawn to London, as many people are, by the idea of the bright
lights and possibilities of city life. It was years before she
discovered the river, but once she did and started to see that there were things on the foreshore, washed up or stuck in the mud, that these things were often historical in nature and that the collecting of them is known as 'Mudlarking', she has not looked back. <br /></p><p>A lot of people apparently do not know that The Thames is a tidal river. I'm not sure I did until I was in my forties and started to go to London occasionally, before that I had not given the matter any thought. The tidal head of the river is at Teddington apparently and it's also the limit of the Thames Waterman license, which is one of those iconic occupations that seems to belong to the world of Charles Dickens. In fact, mudlarking has been going on since then when it was urchins who were scouring the foreshore, looking for things to sell so they could eat. These days it's a hobby, but you need a license and that's not easy to get as the amount of people wanting to do it have rocketed and the the authorities have had to cap the numbers.</p><p>We're told that mudlarkers tend to fall into two categories, Hunters and Gatherers. By and large, men do the former, women the latter. Women stroll along the foreshore picking up what they see, men come armed with metal detectors and shovels and start digging, (although you're only allowed to dig to a certain depth: the rules are very strict). For some reason this amused me and rang true. (And reminded me of <i>The Accidental Detectorist</i> by Nigel Richardson, another gem of a book.)<br /></p><p>Maiklem organises her book into chapters headed with areas of London that are on the river - Hammersmith, Vauxhall Bridge, London Bridge, Tower beach, The Pool of London, Greenwich, Tilbury, Wapping and so on. These are the areas where she searches and often finds her treasures. When I say 'treasure' I don't mean hoards of gold doubloons, although she has found a lot of coins, what I mean is artifacts that are ordinary things which historical Londoners have used or worn over the years, dating back to Roman times. It seems that city dwellers have been dumping their rubbish into the river for centuries, in fact at one stage The Thames was declared 'a dead river' because of it, but since then it's been cleaned up and fish have now returned.</p><p>I could go on and on about this book. It is a 'delight'. It's one of those books that combines an author's present day search or experiences of their subject with nuggets of historical information on the finds. So we hear about Henry VIII and his palace at Greenwich, the sewage problem Victorians faced (The Great Stink), the notorious Thames fogs, the history of the pipes used for smoking, coin production, about how a beach in front of the Tower of London was converted into a proper beach for Londoners to use, the list is endless and I loved every single chapter. It is extremely strong on atmosphere - London and its history, the river, the people who lived and worked along it - they live and breathe in this book. And like all wonderful books it's made me look at my shelves to see what else I have to read that's connected. So I have:</p><p><i>London Clay</i> - Tom Chivers </p><p><i>Thames: Sacred River</i> - Peter Ackroyd</p><p><i>Old London Bridge</i> - Patricia Pierce</p><p><i>1700 - Scenes from London Life</i> - Maureen Waller</p><p><i>London Fog</i> - Christine L. Corton<br /></p><p><b>And fiction:</b></p><p><i>Our Mutual Friend</i> - Charles Dickens <br /></p><p><i>The Port of London Murders</i> - Josephine Bell </p><p>So, that's just by having a cursory look at my bookshelves and Kindle. Suspect a serious search will reveal more but that's enough to last me through the year on a casual basis because that's how I'm reading this year... casually, according to my mood. </p><p>So, Mudlarking was my first 5 star non-fiction book of 2024. I hope, hope, hope there are more to come in this vein. And if you're interested in London, British social history, rivers, books about people with a serious quirky hobby, then I cannot recommend this fantastic book highly enough. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-51547307793755236232024-01-11T10:39:00.000+00:002024-01-11T10:39:39.048+00:00First books of 2024. <p>Unlike January 2023, 'this' year has started well as regards books. (Last year started with <i>The Starless Sea </i>by Erin Morgenstern and <i>Lagoon</i> by Nnedi Okorafar neither of which were all that great, in fact the latter got my only 2 star rating of 2023, if memory serves.) My first book, <i>The Awakening</i> by Nora Roberts, was unfinished from 2023, so doesn't really feel like the first book for this year, but <i>Children of Time</i> does and it was an excellent book to start a new year with.</p><p>First up,<i> The Awakening</i> by Nora Roberts. My daughter recommended this trilogy and, although I'm not a massive fan of the author's Fey, Irish books, I'm nevertheless willing to try almost anything. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXoeOHK8aJaB7p5nJOBNgIiBlBuwtX0ehCSkG3sM_LRYXisPSQDZtIF1Wa696_dmsRob0QUtVvpod2OefaDaHLVmNQ4jbfIYjzNcONWavoFaL0o_x_OSr78QxUNdGysPob1beHwQl5Rn8crrsUaHAoZFXWyDoR5K_X002NjEEv1ut9cmi7_yuurvEFGo/s499/The%20Awakening.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXoeOHK8aJaB7p5nJOBNgIiBlBuwtX0ehCSkG3sM_LRYXisPSQDZtIF1Wa696_dmsRob0QUtVvpod2OefaDaHLVmNQ4jbfIYjzNcONWavoFaL0o_x_OSr78QxUNdGysPob1beHwQl5Rn8crrsUaHAoZFXWyDoR5K_X002NjEEv1ut9cmi7_yuurvEFGo/w130-h200/The%20Awakening.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><p>Breen Kelly lives in Philadelphia, sharing a flat with her gay best friend, Marco. She's a teacher who hates teaching but was rather forced into it by a domineering mother who has convinced Breen that she will never be more than 'average'. Looking after her mother's house one day, while her mother is away, Breen discovers that she has money, lots of it, left to her by her Irish father who disappeared when she was 10: her mother has kept this information from her. It is life changing of course and Breen makes the decision to go to Ireland to see if she can discover what happened to her father and also to see if she can kick-start the writing career that she's always dreamed of. So that's how the story begins. It turns into something very different of course as Breen discovers a portal into another realm and thus where her father went and the family she never knew about. I haven't read enough of Nora Roberts' Fey books, set in Ireland, to judge whether this is a good representation of them or not. (I read one, eons ago, and wasn't struck.) So, I have to judge it on its own merit as something new to me, and I did actually rather enjoy it. Yes, it was quite predictable, and I did think it got a bit bogged down in the detail of Breen's 'learning' in the middle. I also found the hero character rather abrasive but suspect his appeal is not aimed at a jaded old biddy like me. But what I loved was the setting on the west coast of Ireland. It shone like a wonderful character in its own right and oh gosh would I love a cottage like that on the shores of a bay in Ireland. Wild and woolly, Atlantic storms, what's not to love? The other realm was well depicted too and I did rather like the people she found there. So, swings and roundabouts but basically a success with me and I will read book 2, <i>The Becoming</i>, sometime this year, luckily my local library has it. </p><p>So, in my mind, my first book of 2024 was <i>Children of Time</i> by Adrian Tchaikovsky. This is a sweeping space opera of a book which I've been meaning to read since I bought it in 2022. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlVp72Ftpjw1hBejGjMleyFkh0g65YNvHEAyc31K3nThCCJLdMBKm-j77q7KhW5AaaBUQBnIeAbz7KXl9aZEsAw5j-mIaVVrsD9smHnl0eSVRba1-hws7Hf87RrBuNuiC0FXPjHrpiNQKMqYKRa2pHN9jxd3-7lZM43Dz09jvcQ4asUrqH5DGLPKrMM/s400/Children%20of%20Time.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlVp72Ftpjw1hBejGjMleyFkh0g65YNvHEAyc31K3nThCCJLdMBKm-j77q7KhW5AaaBUQBnIeAbz7KXl9aZEsAw5j-mIaVVrsD9smHnl0eSVRba1-hws7Hf87RrBuNuiC0FXPjHrpiNQKMqYKRa2pHN9jxd3-7lZM43Dz09jvcQ4asUrqH5DGLPKrMM/w134-h200/Children%20of%20Time.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>Hmm, this one's going to be difficult to describe. So, there's this planet which is being terraformed by the last of a sort of super-race from Earth, Dr. Avrana Kern. She presses the button, so to speak, releases a capsule of monkeys who carry a virus which means they will advance quickly, but there's a sabateur on her ship, all goes pear-shaped, and she has no idea whether said monkeys survive to inhabit the planet. Fast forward a couple of thousand years and her brain is inside a computer when another ship approaches. It's from Earth and is an Ark ship, carrying the remnants of the civilisation that followed Kern's. Earth is dead and thousands of people in stasis have nowhere to go, except Kern's planet. She's not having any of that for one reason or another and sends them on their way, but not before they get a glimpse of what is actually on the planet and the civilisation it's building. So, I've tried to make this spoiler free although anyone who knows of this book is probably aware of the twist. This is my first book by sci-fi writer, Adrian Tchaikovsky. His reputation goes before him so I was intrigued to read something and I was not disappointed. I'd heard that characteristaion was not his strongest point and I would say, yes, perhaps. People talk about his world building and that I would very much agree with. The beings on the planet, the world they have created: brilliant. The book is written from two perspectives, that of the people on the ship coming from Earth and that of the inhabitants of the planet. I preferred the latter but both were excellent. There were difficult decisions, ethical dilemmas, both on the ship and on the planet. It was fascinating. And the end surprised me. I gave this one 5 stars on Goodreads, if 4.5 was available it probably would've got that as I did think it wouldn't have harmed to lose a few pages. But all in all an amazing sci-fi read and as it's part one of a trilogy I'll be reading on sometime this year. <br /><p>So, two very good books to start my reading for 2024. One hundred per cent better than last year. I hope you too have started your reading year well? Also that you're staying safe and well. Happy January reading. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-27281292570027119462024-01-06T10:41:00.000+00:002024-01-06T10:41:18.584+00:00My Life in Books 2023<p>I've done this 'My Life in Books' meme for several years now. Always have a lot of fun doing it, the idea being simply to answer the questions with the titles of books you read last year.<br /></p><p><b>In high school I (liked)</b>: <b> </b><i>To be Taught if Fortunate</i> - Becky Chambers</p>
<p><b>People might be surprised by</b>: <i>Who Killed the Curate? - </i>Joan Coggin<br /></p><b> </b><p><b>I will never be: </b><i>Behind the Sequins</i><b> - </b>Shirley Ballas<br /></p>
<p><b>My fantasy Job is: </b><i>The Left-handed Booksellers of London - </i>Garth Nix<br /></p>
<p><b>At the end of a long day I need: </b><i>The Pleasure of Reading</i><b> - </b>ed. Antonia Fraser<br /></p>
<p><b>I hate being</b>: <i>Rotten to the Core</i> - T.E. Kinsey<br /></p>
<p><b>I wish I had: </b><i>A Year of Living Simply</i><b> - </b>Kate Humble<br /></p>
<p><b>My family reunions are</b>: <i>A Scream In Soho</i> - John Brandon<br /></p>
<p><b>At a party you’d find me (saying):<i> </i></b><i>I'm Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come</i> - Jessica Pan<br /></p>
<p><b>I’ve never been to: </b><i>The Bright Edge of the World - </i>Eowyn Ivey<br /></p><p><b>A happy day includes: </b><i>Red Sauce, Brown Sauce</i><b> - </b>Felicity Cloake<br /></p><p><b>Motto I live by</b>:<i> Sea of Tranquility - </i>Emily St. John Mandel<br /></p>
<p><b>On my bucket list is: </b><i>The Pavilion in the Clouds</i><b> - </b>A. McCall-Smith<a href="https://booksplease.org/2022/07/07/where-the-crawdads-sing-by-delia-owens/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"> </a><br /></p>
<p><b>In my next life, I want to have</b>: <i>A Ship of Magic</i> - Robin Hobb</p><p>Would love to see other people's answers! </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-82222379254186533222024-01-03T11:41:00.000+00:002024-01-03T11:41:11.394+00:00Best non-fiction, 2023.<p>So, just twenty two non-fiction books read last year but there were some really good books amongst those so I thought I would do a separate post to talk about a few of them.</p><p>First, I must apologise for being a bit AWOL in commenting on posts for a couple of days. I took a tumble in the kitchen and knocked my head quite badly, so took a day or two to be quiet and get over it. I'm fine now but my head still has a nice lump and I have a really impressive black eye! Not a great start to 2024. </p><p>So, books. In 2023 I read a few less non-fiction books than other years but those I did read were excellent and very memorable. These are a few of the best:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48z3gmwox962aX4yFBwYjLqCG52zKH2nhutHBQlz5ROyIE9AFZ0rnoK-sbuopuUhFx3OCmJAjIZ_DtUdZxFhke6Ry7x-ug22j6gOnq36wzlMOrIptUXQwGIvGmvRtGLhyphenhyphenZoENpQErXY-zSqm9WK7JNy02grLXrtXiGA1SjdnejZSm78bRWhk3dYPMvn8/s1200/La%20Vie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="747" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48z3gmwox962aX4yFBwYjLqCG52zKH2nhutHBQlz5ROyIE9AFZ0rnoK-sbuopuUhFx3OCmJAjIZ_DtUdZxFhke6Ry7x-ug22j6gOnq36wzlMOrIptUXQwGIvGmvRtGLhyphenhyphenZoENpQErXY-zSqm9WK7JNy02grLXrtXiGA1SjdnejZSm78bRWhk3dYPMvn8/w124-h200/La%20Vie.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><p></p><p><i>La Vie: A Year in Rural France</i> by John Lewis-Stempel is what it says on the tin - a recounting of the author's move to France and how he settled in, started a garden and got to know the locals in the village. The writing was 'sublime' and I absolutely loved this short little book.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAU47sXRZs04veAV1Rh62W_Y-Q3D43bLd3290FLol4YDysCYmrEP50U7MrFF8EJaHJtD_GDHr0tl3Ht2o26Uzll52BfL_cgDkCQIOB48V9a_uC9UhkNUxOKYnC4TKhd7NI-8V863K0Q8TeDkBLXVWhCjIJcZuSPoEY_oMpfz6XdNLTUA5yet2EFhGH454/s392/Everest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAU47sXRZs04veAV1Rh62W_Y-Q3D43bLd3290FLol4YDysCYmrEP50U7MrFF8EJaHJtD_GDHr0tl3Ht2o26Uzll52BfL_cgDkCQIOB48V9a_uC9UhkNUxOKYnC4TKhd7NI-8V863K0Q8TeDkBLXVWhCjIJcZuSPoEY_oMpfz6XdNLTUA5yet2EFhGH454/w130-h200/Everest.png" width="130" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/06/i-have-been-reading.html">The Hunt for Mount Everest</a> by Craig Storti is a historical account of the discovery of Mount Everest. I say 'discovery'... the locals always knew it was there, obviously, but it was a bit of a myth to western explorers and even when its existance was confirmed the Dalai Llama managed to keep the world at bay for many more years. Lots of interesting political history in this one and I do love books about climbing and how it emmerged as a serious 'thing' amongst Europeans.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTwn33N4Aq0kAoU0pb85XlhITYnYVWJBFdl5NTzjlCsxXXgdde0Mrq4wkLGxE-AJthUWvhgWkiuc3o7rK-ShsuKQpXbDKVgkmd4tgZHm-R_7xa5_K6lRjyQcLfCeRxm_cYIz35NlTHXXuH3ynXQWqJKyh7Ven68kKKx_smLsXRBg2SPQ0pK0aitUWo18/s475/Jane%20Austen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTwn33N4Aq0kAoU0pb85XlhITYnYVWJBFdl5NTzjlCsxXXgdde0Mrq4wkLGxE-AJthUWvhgWkiuc3o7rK-ShsuKQpXbDKVgkmd4tgZHm-R_7xa5_K6lRjyQcLfCeRxm_cYIz35NlTHXXuH3ynXQWqJKyh7Ven68kKKx_smLsXRBg2SPQ0pK0aitUWo18/w130-h200/Jane%20Austen.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Jane Austen: A Life</i> by Claire Tomalin is self explanatory. I didn't review this but that doesn't mean I didn't think it was absolutely superb. I learnt so much and want to read more biographical works about Austen and her works now. I have Lucy Worsley's book to start me off, hopefully get to that this year. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWyGC5_qaa1D_BvQ8rTcF3fGiixPlMeHP6V_7Y2Q-g2ucD2-j8zKJTTlx-yc9m5fKLbUrTRCCR8_uqnCjtHBenzNcp6Of6zlHrArfCyjYou-d4iZWNccWsOHK6xbVCgLRTfxatLpqJieYJqFu3wu2dkmmuSfxDNLm1rLNaaAM1w2HEX2ND2cFzqnR44I/s500/Detectorist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWyGC5_qaa1D_BvQ8rTcF3fGiixPlMeHP6V_7Y2Q-g2ucD2-j8zKJTTlx-yc9m5fKLbUrTRCCR8_uqnCjtHBenzNcp6Of6zlHrArfCyjYou-d4iZWNccWsOHK6xbVCgLRTfxatLpqJieYJqFu3wu2dkmmuSfxDNLm1rLNaaAM1w2HEX2ND2cFzqnR44I/w133-h200/Detectorist.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/09/books-read-in-august.html">The Accidental Detectorist</a> by Nigel Richardson was such a fun, enjoyable read. Quirky and bonkers in places but also a lot of history and information about the various buried hoards that have been found all around the UK. Plus, you know, 'mad' people. (My favourite sort.) LOL! Highly recommended.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkr_aB3_W4fbCNTWQWy7dNlRjX3IeRv2RLAiAzAnZNCJvHvA6GMbnWI9NVw_zb348gVQxK6xIAkVQEiteQV2c1ejIjgqOuWkk2y4fBTzllBii_Hqw_pc-PDY56N9h7KRxJTJbO4Y4ySQmKDvzfH7c6QLn6IlH4ptTLg3BcIZTpnPFmYc_88z-bG3jV6k/s400/Outlandish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="249" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkr_aB3_W4fbCNTWQWy7dNlRjX3IeRv2RLAiAzAnZNCJvHvA6GMbnWI9NVw_zb348gVQxK6xIAkVQEiteQV2c1ejIjgqOuWkk2y4fBTzllBii_Hqw_pc-PDY56N9h7KRxJTJbO4Y4ySQmKDvzfH7c6QLn6IlH4ptTLg3BcIZTpnPFmYc_88z-bG3jV6k/w124-h200/Outlandish.jpg" width="124" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/10/three-short-reviews.html">Outlandish</a> by Nick Hunt. The authour considers the various landscape anomalies that exist in several European countries and goes to look at and experience them. I still think about this book, it was outstanding quite honestly, 'beautifully' written and so informative and full of atmosphere. Absolutely loved it and hope to read his, <i>Walking the Woods and the Water</i> this year. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsueKjr9-Hm6iNKlauh4wvmJgUDTX6ElgRfbQVDvW-2GZYmu_7ngFvwDdhaxPwui-bfuqUaUJjfUB8IPnaC4yz5LzZRIs9v0dXIgRtD1WQJNNLWqCwUrzYHvA_DdlLd90Nw2q7egCC0lxPCwU7dMCkoZ_yqc3k4OKGuCYc3WNEZIJtc2UsRWnU6gNRVR0/s500/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsueKjr9-Hm6iNKlauh4wvmJgUDTX6ElgRfbQVDvW-2GZYmu_7ngFvwDdhaxPwui-bfuqUaUJjfUB8IPnaC4yz5LzZRIs9v0dXIgRtD1WQJNNLWqCwUrzYHvA_DdlLd90Nw2q7egCC0lxPCwU7dMCkoZ_yqc3k4OKGuCYc3WNEZIJtc2UsRWnU6gNRVR0/w131-h200/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p> </p><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/a-quick-catch-up-and-october-books.html">Along the Enchanted Way</a> by William Blacker. This is another book I'm still thinking about. The author goes to live in the Maramures region of northern Romania, a region that has not changed in centuries. He's practically adopted by the community he lives with and also gets to know the local gypsy population too. I don't know when I've ever read a book with a more intense sense of place: forests, villages, wintery landscapes, it was like moving back to the middle ages. Wonderful. </p><p>So that's just six of my favourite non-fiction books for 2023. It's a cracking year when I can pick out six superb books like this and could easily have included a handful more. <br /></p><p>Some honorable mentions. Two books by Kate Humble, <i>A Year of Living Simply</i> and <i>Home Cooked</i>, both gorgeous. <i>Bringing in the Sheaves</i> by The Reverand Richard Coles charts the life of a well known TV Vicar - enjoyed it a lot. <i>A Spoonful of Sugar</i> by Brenda Ashford - nannying during WW2. <i>50 Shades of the USA</i> by Anna McNuff - cycling across the 50 states of the USA. I could go on and on, it's been a stellar year for me for non-fiction. Let's hope 2024 is equally as good. </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-73131338957390316922023-12-30T14:12:00.000+00:002023-12-30T14:12:17.983+00:00My 2023 reading<p>So, I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one? Ours was very much a family Christmas, quite busy, so I've just emerged blinking into the... well... not sunlight... it's December in the UK after all... more like damp and drizzle with the likelihood of more storms on the horizon... possibly even a tornado or two now, apparently! <br /></p><p>December was, as predicted, not a hugely productive reading month, but that's fine. I read 5 books, 3 of them managing to be Christmassy in theme.</p><p>96. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-quick-catch-up.html">A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers</a></p><p>97. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-quick-catch-up.html">Who Killed the Curate? - Joan Coggin</a></p><p>98. <i>Home Cooked</i> - Kate Humble. Seasonal living in a farmhouse with recipes included. Delightful.</p><p>99. <i>Haunter at the Hearth</i> - edited by Tanya Kirk. To be reviewed but this was a better than average collection of Christmas themed weird stories published by The British Library.</p><p>100. <i>Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon</i> - James Lovegrove. I saw this on <a href="http://larkwrites.blogspot.com/2023/12/sherlock-holmes-christmas-demon.html">Lark's blog,</a> thought it sounded fun, and grabbed it for my Kindle. It <i>was</i> fun too. All dark brooding castles and weird goings on in the wilds of Yorkshire. Lovegrove has written a lot of Holmes and Watson stories, I've read one other and plan to read more as I'm a bit of a Holmes and Watson mood at the moment. </p><p>So I made it to 100 books read this year... for the second year in a row. I didn't intend to, I intended to slow down but it just didn't happen. Oh well, perhaps I just need to read what I read at a pace that just happens and stop trying to fix what ain't broken. </p><p>Of the 100 books 22 were non-fiction. That's ok, not brilliant but not terrible either. I completed the Mount TBR challenge and read 24 books that had been moldering on my tbr mountain since the dawn of time. I read 14 books for Susan at 'Bloggin' 'Bout Books' <a href="http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2022/12/announcing-bookish-books-reading.html">Bookish Books</a> reading challenge. I also read 17 science fiction or fantasy books, which was one of my personal challenges for 2023. I consider that a success. (For 2024 I've set myself all kinds of personal challenges but more about that in another post.) </p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2023/167537">Goodreads thingy</a>, I've read nearly 34,000 pages, the shortest book being <i>To Be Taught if Fortunate</i> by Becky Chambers at 135 pages and the longest, <i>The Mad Ship</i> by Robin Hobb at 906. Apparently that gives me an average of 339! Who knew? <br /></p><p>A few favourite fiction books: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzv7P-EtXBwYkNBKf_Ty0WwRIbYUFRsfZaW8LWSEPjGuuGDCiL27HWp3YJUfvaZwr6afo_RAEvGfS7U_rBZXA0n0IlnkcUC1-ki0tLexP7qSyKwAREtjT0DJmebX4yCOO0zIY3_YmoSLndwjAyO7GoKQQ5x57tJ2k1ijsu9NRIKtzt_EbsLV7bvfiRh0/s500/Blind.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="310" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzv7P-EtXBwYkNBKf_Ty0WwRIbYUFRsfZaW8LWSEPjGuuGDCiL27HWp3YJUfvaZwr6afo_RAEvGfS7U_rBZXA0n0IlnkcUC1-ki0tLexP7qSyKwAREtjT0DJmebX4yCOO0zIY3_YmoSLndwjAyO7GoKQQ5x57tJ2k1ijsu9NRIKtzt_EbsLV7bvfiRh0/w124-h200/Blind.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMZZjB59SlDqQJy5vkNlUoneR2x9gzjlv4hJr8CD5HSQ2PuKgE03l3ROhS7fa0oNQP7EczAAG8ArywkWbuMDmyGt8779qHbuvmrv7qnmwtrDKkTIh0NDX0qA5IzqeG8VDcEvQVGGe0fIrftT7jPxKnOyCr3sRF5B75bLpV3zXFT_nVKV28fmUSWWIywg/s346/Library.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="226" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMZZjB59SlDqQJy5vkNlUoneR2x9gzjlv4hJr8CD5HSQ2PuKgE03l3ROhS7fa0oNQP7EczAAG8ArywkWbuMDmyGt8779qHbuvmrv7qnmwtrDKkTIh0NDX0qA5IzqeG8VDcEvQVGGe0fIrftT7jPxKnOyCr3sRF5B75bLpV3zXFT_nVKV28fmUSWWIywg/w131-h200/Library.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJidjtfgmz90JZTZvoLxvlXAWaSXJ2svGTQlRWVOAPQWiKbdDs8q8Ilq3AowOr_v5hPuBx9uMjffvVCr500QraBJSkFMw9wVsyNglyulWzhC7A5I7QGRuWkEV1GlIq2Uz5ehBeuPfJ20ua0n4ywxTz0lZrkUDmIhdFCOMDkBcSLAAoZxQZf9MQEVEYl4/s475/Mad%20ship.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJidjtfgmz90JZTZvoLxvlXAWaSXJ2svGTQlRWVOAPQWiKbdDs8q8Ilq3AowOr_v5hPuBx9uMjffvVCr500QraBJSkFMw9wVsyNglyulWzhC7A5I7QGRuWkEV1GlIq2Uz5ehBeuPfJ20ua0n4ywxTz0lZrkUDmIhdFCOMDkBcSLAAoZxQZf9MQEVEYl4/w130-h200/Mad%20ship.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouDsi15XBd5YoXHMPrxMgNEJF_NK2zxea35Gr0UknAjHgXMkVIKLnLkQPDtDNw7V30ULISDmBwNE01REDShB3aMGq2xm4qZaraBDxr8iZeubleb2LIJmcsOf5VZEJlGmud5VX5UY0wScKnRQcQDzgSscofJOulH12J0KzEiX1pcjQHciVCAYZgWFjtGY/s346/Horse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouDsi15XBd5YoXHMPrxMgNEJF_NK2zxea35Gr0UknAjHgXMkVIKLnLkQPDtDNw7V30ULISDmBwNE01REDShB3aMGq2xm4qZaraBDxr8iZeubleb2LIJmcsOf5VZEJlGmud5VX5UY0wScKnRQcQDzgSscofJOulH12J0KzEiX1pcjQHciVCAYZgWFjtGY/w130-h200/Horse.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqAWnDzJkd4QH6nTFT4mPri_Y6vPRQqko6ojjMbERu3qiP7pU8S2i_NHbb8CnY00VQpo2yM34vql0EDa__5Kr8Kov7Ahs4k9zOjAWY4CNb5VMxHkGf5tokMTjcjuNZ2NqJ9XEZslmHCN-X3vtzKblZBr8heEcpZomZROcq8iSrNvRkuvADa0o7KCcKHg/s874/Remarkably.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="568" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqAWnDzJkd4QH6nTFT4mPri_Y6vPRQqko6ojjMbERu3qiP7pU8S2i_NHbb8CnY00VQpo2yM34vql0EDa__5Kr8Kov7Ahs4k9zOjAWY4CNb5VMxHkGf5tokMTjcjuNZ2NqJ9XEZslmHCN-X3vtzKblZBr8heEcpZomZROcq8iSrNvRkuvADa0o7KCcKHg/w130-h200/Remarkably.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEeHfYOL03HlaL4qNzpnJPB8SjrMSao-KaR0WVPa4jsXOE9xt84Pk1OLfz9Sn3pYetrNbYG8TY8h7FCTNZ2XM12a56YvICQxLsNONn42xHnFqQeAueV0-LT0or-PekdOJS2sJVI3bKpGJCyAB6he4vgV6dKQrDPdP1T9O-texI6kcfmiOQhajOVKmuTM/s1000/Legends.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="660" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEeHfYOL03HlaL4qNzpnJPB8SjrMSao-KaR0WVPa4jsXOE9xt84Pk1OLfz9Sn3pYetrNbYG8TY8h7FCTNZ2XM12a56YvICQxLsNONn42xHnFqQeAueV0-LT0or-PekdOJS2sJVI3bKpGJCyAB6he4vgV6dKQrDPdP1T9O-texI6kcfmiOQhajOVKmuTM/w132-h200/Legends.jpg" width="132" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8A3Les54vBVLsRb_J__MbQcw0M37oy-Km5ne1HvarkhkGhx8N6eTnYQLLcp9KscsDrvbDOoo_wX0pU4JO0NrnrQxAL2JHmgRSPUuyBaVzqAlHlSwrUr0o30fOfyFTyHsLSKB5kMtK7CS9fL4rc7qWGj3m7QYhbHG2eTJMWjmZ4kwd5UTdvCl_Q4AO2g/s500/Game.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="322" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8A3Les54vBVLsRb_J__MbQcw0M37oy-Km5ne1HvarkhkGhx8N6eTnYQLLcp9KscsDrvbDOoo_wX0pU4JO0NrnrQxAL2JHmgRSPUuyBaVzqAlHlSwrUr0o30fOfyFTyHsLSKB5kMtK7CS9fL4rc7qWGj3m7QYhbHG2eTJMWjmZ4kwd5UTdvCl_Q4AO2g/w129-h200/Game.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><br /></div><p>I'm going to do non-fiction in a separate post, partly because of the
length of this post but also because I read some good ones and they deserve
their own post. <br /></p><p>So, another year of reading under our belts. It's whizzed by. It's not just me, everyone says so. It's quite alarming really so I'm choosing not to think about it and concentrate instead on having a good reading year in 2024. Again, I will do a separate post.</p><p>Happy New Year to everyone who reads my humble blog, whether you comment or not. I hope you all have an excellent 2024, finding lots of wonderful books and having loads of fun reading them. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-4660280011954833472023-12-14T15:15:00.000+00:002023-12-14T15:15:58.316+00:00A quick catch-up<p>As always, this time of year proves to be pretty busy so I thought I'd do a very quick catch-up on what I've read so far in December.</p><p>First-up, <i>A Closed and Common Orbit</i> is book two in Becky Chamber's 'Wayfarer's' science fiction series. If you haven't read book one and are inclined to, probably best not to read any more of this review because there are *spoilers*. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU5X5ya4DpWcxfClatOI_hiMrzRLAaZauib_y9Zps7SGvMp4b-wplDHCOjZR9PQQ1DMkbD29lRg5FSz0hJNVotF0X0UxD6l9mSKWitjMzVqCbjVNfZxyVd1zuRO7_wMa_m4zflIQcoq9zionkASkdfGiVW_9a5NxivkLaQbHUlfwAwnkDu23oaNRqwoU/s1181/Orbit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU5X5ya4DpWcxfClatOI_hiMrzRLAaZauib_y9Zps7SGvMp4b-wplDHCOjZR9PQQ1DMkbD29lRg5FSz0hJNVotF0X0UxD6l9mSKWitjMzVqCbjVNfZxyVd1zuRO7_wMa_m4zflIQcoq9zionkASkdfGiVW_9a5NxivkLaQbHUlfwAwnkDu23oaNRqwoU/w130-h200/Orbit.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>So, at the end of book one the AI that runs systems on the space-ship 'Wayfarer' is transferred into a human 'kit'. It's so realistic that you can't tell she's not human. She becomes 'Sidra' and this is the story of how she moves to another planet with 'Pepper' and how she settles into day to day life. Pepper was at one time Jane23 and in this book we have a dual time-line, learning who Jane 23 was and what happened to her as a child and teenager. For me, it was Jane's story that grabbed me. The situation on her home planet was somewhat shocking but I loved her story and what saved her. I'm not a great fan of the AI sub-genre of science-fiction but this book proves that I should stop saying, 'I don't like' and just try different kinds of books that I'm not sure if I'll enjoy. Because nearly every time I do that I end up with a pleasant surprise. An excellent read and I already have book three for 2024.<br /><p></p><p> <br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Next, <i>Who Killed the Curate</i>, a vintage crime yarn by Joan Coggin.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc52Nu16TKRytYtQWBQTN-BEXcxLTQgUhpKZLPwhYN2z2ashlG2hyphenhyphenIi1Q39u7ddLKMR59j8Eda27pthj4kHzZJw20sCzcXcVX5PtRKYkHCu7hrFNKFodNAOd5VLqZITS8nd16Lv0ViEKy7wCzEjka5vRiY8Mp15ZYr0DXt6gWwwqpE05o2ERdYBqIvT-s/s500/Curate.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="323" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc52Nu16TKRytYtQWBQTN-BEXcxLTQgUhpKZLPwhYN2z2ashlG2hyphenhyphenIi1Q39u7ddLKMR59j8Eda27pthj4kHzZJw20sCzcXcVX5PtRKYkHCu7hrFNKFodNAOd5VLqZITS8nd16Lv0ViEKy7wCzEjka5vRiY8Mp15ZYr0DXt6gWwwqpE05o2ERdYBqIvT-s/w129-h200/Curate.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>A whirlwind romance sees Lady Lupin Lorimer married to a vicar, Andrew Hastings. She's staggered that what she thinks will be a quiet existence in rural Sussex is anything but and she's expected to be on this committee and that and even run the girl guides! Being young and more than a bit silly this is quite a challenge. When her husband's curate is found dead on Christmas Eve there's even more of a challenge as the police try to find out who poisoned him. Lupin, along with two society friends and Andrew's MI5 nephew, decide to help the police find the culprit. But there are so many suspects, due to the curate's secret life, that this proves to be an almost impossible task. This is probably one of the funniest books I've read all year due to the author's very amusing turn of phrase in her writing. I honestly laughed a lot. Unfortunately, I did feel she overdid Lupin's ditziness... to the point where she was borderline too annoying to want to read about. Toned down a bit this would have got 5 stars from me because of the humour and good characterisation as regards the supporting cast... although it was a bit hard keeping track of who was who. Plus, 40% in is a tiny bit of a long wait for a dead body... But a good, fun, Christmas murder mystery. <p></p><p>Also just finished:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPrx2WmxCUUHnCIFKzwSbaYDgjM6FCTLRgjtEQipkYSq7A0lQ1bHFz5IxxJ9-YxZ1AMYXORVKhbbPe73VltdvOxf6SCUajfgCcGtQV6in709c0mj_1spV1P2XPxZLXtJ0HCAsD5XXGNuPgHAT54ug4yrtSfHJa9W3v53g0IEI8QCapK2IdXlu7UXIKrE/s2560/Home%20cooked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2082" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPrx2WmxCUUHnCIFKzwSbaYDgjM6FCTLRgjtEQipkYSq7A0lQ1bHFz5IxxJ9-YxZ1AMYXORVKhbbPe73VltdvOxf6SCUajfgCcGtQV6in709c0mj_1spV1P2XPxZLXtJ0HCAsD5XXGNuPgHAT54ug4yrtSfHJa9W3v53g0IEI8QCapK2IdXlu7UXIKrE/s320/Home%20cooked.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Home Cooked</i> by TV presenter, Kate Humble, is a delightful book of seasonal recipes and ruminations about the changing seasons in the UK. She collected the recipes from friends and family and they all get credited, even a neighbour, 12 year old Freddie, who is apparently an expert on ice-cream making. Loved this and will definitely be trying a few of the recipes.</p><p>I seem to be currently reading four books. Not sure how but these are they:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUX6kUSphe0nEJQDK0BnhQ6BF_UzwOi-Rs_GxKjjbmEO8-DPeV5KYab-J02Vfqp-3B2UpOX6BfhzG1D4e_CZA7o_ogs-BjykQf570Lf1otRGY-rh98NcWh4q1d2I5fOQbD9eeAti7gY_r4Nzh0o-NCoB_UJGsutJq66Sz0QZZFM23fQqsuk4StQUbLeg/s500/Hearth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="341" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUX6kUSphe0nEJQDK0BnhQ6BF_UzwOi-Rs_GxKjjbmEO8-DPeV5KYab-J02Vfqp-3B2UpOX6BfhzG1D4e_CZA7o_ogs-BjykQf570Lf1otRGY-rh98NcWh4q1d2I5fOQbD9eeAti7gY_r4Nzh0o-NCoB_UJGsutJq66Sz0QZZFM23fQqsuk4StQUbLeg/w136-h200/Hearth.jpg" width="136" /></a></div> <p></p><p><i>Haunters at the Hearth</i>, edited by Tanya Kirk, is a book of Christmas weird stories published by the British Library. I'm about three quarters of the way through and so far it's rather good.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NDPOUCwoHeb-kAoqzqAKApq6U-hA-bSmcGa6mpZebHOTauwkxc3nhwRMhOiZGrzNrFsrQRzBqFlWrt62uppYQILTO6uKiRqYWEY604chJjC9JxN6IN6V0yi8aePiAvUfDhjgVWmKPEGdO3Nfxagl2R9Er2CeQr6AVCI_ZyVmaXuTJQxbAuQm85LCgMw/s500/Christams%20Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NDPOUCwoHeb-kAoqzqAKApq6U-hA-bSmcGa6mpZebHOTauwkxc3nhwRMhOiZGrzNrFsrQRzBqFlWrt62uppYQILTO6uKiRqYWEY604chJjC9JxN6IN6V0yi8aePiAvUfDhjgVWmKPEGdO3Nfxagl2R9Er2CeQr6AVCI_ZyVmaXuTJQxbAuQm85LCgMw/w127-h200/Christams%20Holmes.jpg" width="127" /></a></div><br /><p>Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove is a book I read about <a href="https://larkwrites.blogspot.com/2023/12/sherlock-holmes-christmas-demon.html">HERE</a> on Lark's blog. Only just started it really but again it's good.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XKWlhSBEwvbu-AHFTkQMPpu8iiI_VbF-NVVumdQyTB0U0ybN2ksvhLgw1-jwmuHqCIkSYvrJMXErMY1xc9HB9RqFa5tKTFXKg7o2A6uUPBHUPtvxeft0VLqgAPH_2f2y80ATnSyWcGtBQPsr5GN_MO6ULWrXhlJhR6xf5gARJszLW_0Kwlr5KkEidRY/s400/Vesper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XKWlhSBEwvbu-AHFTkQMPpu8iiI_VbF-NVVumdQyTB0U0ybN2ksvhLgw1-jwmuHqCIkSYvrJMXErMY1xc9HB9RqFa5tKTFXKg7o2A6uUPBHUPtvxeft0VLqgAPH_2f2y80ATnSyWcGtBQPsr5GN_MO6ULWrXhlJhR6xf5gARJszLW_0Kwlr5KkEidRY/w131-h200/Vesper.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p></p><p><i>Vesper Flights </i>is a book of nature writing essays, concentrating on birds, by Helen MacDonald. Really superb and beautifully written.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9BvVDs2aDhmPGnFaKDsZiOBRGofrKYl1RRM0fQuimal9wpAjWJ7wcCDRuiytof4-_bojGFdRt8K5wyAcgN-4tc_1Uz9n2hDV8202aTo7m13-gKWJtbnCMkpc_Za167qNXrFOqOqvSYima19rlRrssULGie6Fr5O2A1JAoyR-1cOf3EcFyLZkjRGgk6c/s2252/Nature%20Tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9BvVDs2aDhmPGnFaKDsZiOBRGofrKYl1RRM0fQuimal9wpAjWJ7wcCDRuiytof4-_bojGFdRt8K5wyAcgN-4tc_1Uz9n2hDV8202aTo7m13-gKWJtbnCMkpc_Za167qNXrFOqOqvSYima19rlRrssULGie6Fr5O2A1JAoyR-1cOf3EcFyLZkjRGgk6c/w124-h200/Nature%20Tales.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br /><p>This is <i>Nature Tales for Winter Nights</i>, edited by Nancy Campbell. It's a delightful compendium of exerts from books, by all kinds of authors, that are connected in some manner to Winter. This I'll probably let float over into 2024 as I'm in no hurry to gobble up its gorgeousness. <br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well, I hope you're not too crazy busy in the run up to Christmas and that you're finding time to read good books. </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-27974149517956819952023-12-01T11:03:00.000+00:002023-12-01T11:03:43.631+00:00Books read in November<p>Well, the forecast snow amounted to several small flurries as we set off on our short journey to the hospital, yesterday afternoon, so I was glad about that as the M5 in a blizzard did not particularly appeal for some reason. I think we were on the edge of the couple of inches that got dumped on Cornwall, so it was bitterly cold with a biting wind, but little to no snow. <br /></p><p>So anyway, that's the weather report for today (which is a cold, crisp, sunny day for those interested in that kind of thing, ie. me.) So... books. I read seven in November. It was a nice varied month with three crime stories read, a couple of autobiographies, and a couple of paranormal/horror books. These are they:<br /></p><p>89. <i>Behind the Sequins</i> by Shirley Ballas. This is an autobiography by the head judge on the iconic British show, Strictly Come Dancing. It was a rags to riches story of one very determined woman and how she became a world ballroom/latin dancing champion. It was quite simple really, she worked her backside off to succeed and all power to her. I enjoyed her book. </p><p>90. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">Murder While You Work - Susan Scarlett</a></p><p>91. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">Journey to Munich - Jacqueline Winspear</a></p><p>92. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">Doorway to Dilemma - edited by Mike Ashley</a> </p><p>93. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">Rotten to the Core - T.E. Kinsey</a></p><p>94. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">A Game of Ghosts - John Connolly</a> </p><p>95. <i>A Spoonful of Sugar</i> - Brenda Ashford. The author became a Norland Nanny in the late 1930s and had only been qualified a short time before war broke out. She then ended up looking after nursery children while their mothers worked in munitions factories, plus there were also a lot evacuees. This was a gentle book but quite important in that it reminded the reader that even nannies did their bit in the war and that the women who worked in the war effort could not have done so without the likes of Brenda Ashford to look after the children. I learnt quite a lot from this one. There was sadness of course but Brenda had the wonderful, 'Keep calm and carry on' attitude of the day and I admired her greatly. <br /></p><p>So, a decent reading month all in all. I seem to have majored on the theme of WW2, which is appropriate for November, but I found it quite inspiring and one of my personal challenges for 2024 will be to read more. There's so much I don't know about that conflict. </p><p>I'm not sure that I have a favourite November book as the seven ranged from good to excellent so no duds. But if forced, it would be this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTcsMUiELeNF9ykHvBnD29PYejdNUyrM54RgTvevWD8Xp6BZZllUNj4i3STdHNQG401OOPq8oxB04js4VrbWDrOdjZ_fSdiy5Ijdvilfnu3nrBD6QoRaCebqcGZy3vDG8VYyJeMG4qEpt68r5O30aQdhQbxuczcuEp2Ddp6-6z-1UW_urAGar3v9_s2g/s500/Game.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="322" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTcsMUiELeNF9ykHvBnD29PYejdNUyrM54RgTvevWD8Xp6BZZllUNj4i3STdHNQG401OOPq8oxB04js4VrbWDrOdjZ_fSdiy5Ijdvilfnu3nrBD6QoRaCebqcGZy3vDG8VYyJeMG4qEpt68r5O30aQdhQbxuczcuEp2Ddp6-6z-1UW_urAGar3v9_s2g/w129-h200/Game.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><br /><p>For me there is no author like John Connolly and no hero (anti-hero?) like Charlie Parker. I hope he never stops writing this creepy, very thought-provoking series. If he does I think I'll just have to go back to the beginning and start again. </p><p>My current reads number two:</p><p>This: </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2vcJv6C2d_I2ZhIlsS4qrfBA8tviL0I5H60czriZPZPpVqbDLkOoyTyd3_YePrW-U4CXLs7SDn6t9f-cw9NcCGnFDXsSBYWaYOvRj2S3IBHgCA_YxMG25pdTxKtYM3harsDrtxyfwu1eWeFhJpc6LIb3gueOukc_4_TH4Qt4lYnE-mQpR47GoP4Zckk/s1181/Orbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2vcJv6C2d_I2ZhIlsS4qrfBA8tviL0I5H60czriZPZPpVqbDLkOoyTyd3_YePrW-U4CXLs7SDn6t9f-cw9NcCGnFDXsSBYWaYOvRj2S3IBHgCA_YxMG25pdTxKtYM3harsDrtxyfwu1eWeFhJpc6LIb3gueOukc_4_TH4Qt4lYnE-mQpR47GoP4Zckk/w130-h200/Orbit.jpg" width="130" /></a></div> <p></p><p><i>A Closed and Common Orbit</i> is book two in Becky Chambers' 'Wayfarers' sci-fi series. I liked book one a lot and, although I've just started book two, I think it has a lot of potential.</p><p>And this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsqcri5YaxEYsSaUIDRwlr3r4z6r892oBErDZqhJK4euTDs6JZmgNCA0vYXkyn_9ipBbPlZ4kcPkX837O-MmOBEcujrM6oCMSn4GluOB9C5X_NuCNPmmNl2ntFI8tkd0ZOBmIY3Qsl2UOEkOQkOdqpCqIlXhJW7Y85PtanJoquzOD5pLRlevO9IJN3Nc/s400/Vesper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsqcri5YaxEYsSaUIDRwlr3r4z6r892oBErDZqhJK4euTDs6JZmgNCA0vYXkyn_9ipBbPlZ4kcPkX837O-MmOBEcujrM6oCMSn4GluOB9C5X_NuCNPmmNl2ntFI8tkd0ZOBmIY3Qsl2UOEkOQkOdqpCqIlXhJW7Y85PtanJoquzOD5pLRlevO9IJN3Nc/w131-h200/Vesper.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Vesper Flights</i> by Helen Macdonald is a book of nature writing essays majoring on birds. The writing is just beautiful. </p><p>So, onwards into December. It tends not to be a major reading month for me because it gets busy, but I have a few Christmassy books I'd like to read and some short stories... we'll just see how it goes. Happy December reading and I hope everyone is avoiding all the nasty colds and bugs that seem to be rife at the moment. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-31552291274465413202023-11-26T15:53:00.002+00:002023-11-26T15:53:16.348+00:00I have been reading...<p>No sooner has autumn properly set in than the weather forecasting bods start talking about winter. Snow coming for us in the south and south west next weekend apparently. I tend to be of a, 'I'll believe it when I see it' frame of mind, if I'm honest. Living in the south west we don't get anywhere near the snow Scotland or the north of England get but we'll see. At least these days we get plenty of warning so can stock up on essentials because our drive turns into a ski slope when it snows and I'm past the age when whizzing down it on my rear end sounds like fun...</p><p>Anyway, books. I've finished three since my last post about <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/11/world-war-2-fiction.html">WW2 crime fiction</a> ten days ago. </p><p><i>Doorway to Dilemma</i>: <i>Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy</i>, is a book of weird fiction short stories put out by the British Library and edited by Mike Ashley. Unusually for a collection by him I found this a bit average. I marked several as being good though: <i>The Anticipator</i> by Morley Roberts, a story about a writer of short stories who gets exciting ideas only to fine another author thinks of exactly the same idea just before he does and writes the story first to great acclaim. <i>The</i> <i>Mysterious Card</i> by Cleveland Moffat - a man gets given a strange card in some gardens in Paris. Thereafter he is completely shunned by by everyone he knows including his family. Why? I love this kind of supernatural mystery. <i>The Thing in the Cellar</i> by David H. Keller was about a young child not happy about the cellar and won't even be in the kitchen where the door to it is... very good indeed, probably the best story in the collection. </p><p>Next, <i>Rotten to the Core</i> by T.E. Kinsey. This is book eight in his Lady Hardcastle and Flo the Maid, books. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXEMnuCuRqfJcgFGJ9lyt2DVc2MEwMSQx-ac5nRbu_WmTyD2YRFKStI0Be4oI7eqGQK_jr7xhG71P4BkxEdyRgQMfVzA6Bv3dbi70s9XphDp-mWl4UHXIVqczU-VOTH3xbI7-OTATKgWB4yJIOa0T2xgRG5eugEyBVdHFOPd_1rCyeErjg7LT5ZgqSjE/s500/Rotten.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXEMnuCuRqfJcgFGJ9lyt2DVc2MEwMSQx-ac5nRbu_WmTyD2YRFKStI0Be4oI7eqGQK_jr7xhG71P4BkxEdyRgQMfVzA6Bv3dbi70s9XphDp-mWl4UHXIVqczU-VOTH3xbI7-OTATKgWB4yJIOa0T2xgRG5eugEyBVdHFOPd_1rCyeErjg7LT5ZgqSjE/w131-h200/Rotten.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>It's September 1911 and a heatwave has been ongoing for weeks. The apples are ready to harvest, Gloucestershire being a cider area, and The Weryers of the Pomary are doing their appley thing though no one quite knows what that is as it's all supposed to be a bit secret. It's not of course as the villagers know exactly which men are in it. When their members start to turn up dead it lands on Lady Hardcastle and Flo to help the police with their enquiries. I do enjoy the instalments of this series which are Littleton Cotterell (the village where the two women live) based, as we get to see and hear more of the locals who are a joy. But the real joy of these books is T.E. Kinsey's wonderful touch with the dialogue between Lady Hardcastle and Flo. It's very funny. And I love how nothing whatsoever phases these two, they think nothing of flying planes, driving racing cars, chasing after Russian spies. It's all completely bonkers but this is one of my favourite series at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>And lastly, I've just finished <i>A Game of Ghosts</i> by John Connolly, book fifteen in the author's 'Charlie Parker' series. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrB2Lbly6GmtYhBTcJW_JUF0s98W0PDehbNXsgb3iFScFRDwqLlI1lJ1dtOaXm28DruH5j47lmsx4uIT2z8a-DM61dpwdIHhkxQfoXCFbZnxFWxsEemfXWns6HcNKe6ZwjaeX0qC8eM8ztLNi_sYFwScDBa4NSTE2RVNPW7ovWQriB2O_d8-R0YNouD4/s500/Game.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="322" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrB2Lbly6GmtYhBTcJW_JUF0s98W0PDehbNXsgb3iFScFRDwqLlI1lJ1dtOaXm28DruH5j47lmsx4uIT2z8a-DM61dpwdIHhkxQfoXCFbZnxFWxsEemfXWns6HcNKe6ZwjaeX0qC8eM8ztLNi_sYFwScDBa4NSTE2RVNPW7ovWQriB2O_d8-R0YNouD4/w129-h200/Game.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><p>Parker is called in by FBI agent, Edgar Ross, to help him find private investigator, Jaycob Eklund. Ekland has some paranormal investigations going on, which are clearly troubling Ross, but not all of which he divulges to Parker. But he's disappeared and Ross wants him found. Eventually Parker discovers that Ekland was obsessively investigating some strange murders and disappearances involving ghosts. The deeper Parker delves the more he discovers about a group of people called The Brethren, and the more strange and dangerous the case becomes. Well, of course it does, it wouldn't be a Charlie Parker book otherwise! We now know that there's something very different about his daughter, Sam, and that's fascinating as dribs and drabs are revealed. And there're some highly creepy villains (or not) in this instalment. Someone on Goodreads said they wanted John Connolly to write literary fiction because his writing is sublime. Well, yes it is, but I (and many thousands of others) thank our lucky stars that he loves writing weird, paranormal fiction with a mystery bent and would not want to lose him to literary fiction. He's brilliant quite honestly and I hope he has no plans to go anywhere!</p><p></p><p>I hope you're all keeping well and finding loads of great books to read this autumn which may soon be turning into winter...<br /> </p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-27918506324808927292023-11-16T16:33:00.000+00:002023-11-16T16:33:48.255+00:00World War 2 fiction. <p>I try in November, because it's Armistice month, to read something connected to the two world wars. This year I seem to have subconsciously settled on WW2. I'm not sure why as I would have said my interests veer more towards WW1, but there you go, I'm nothing if not contrary.</p><p>So, first up for me was <i>Murder While You Work</i> by Susan Scarlett (which is a pseudonym for the author, Noel Streatfield.)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeV-JQCVdkzytsfcpAnlV2b2k80pnAtED374f5tl3Rfve3K-khNhToJ8KLdulqJj2HY8LWdQRkUgGGhAGWDo5eo4LFCnnIAwjHfRsa6CXM4QSv61aJV5YYVftRmvFgFceL-Z6sEt5EEM-YrNUZTkizh65Be9bWBN0nyys9C9wCsMsM3Vp5Ba5u1Ov1lec/s2339/Work.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2339" data-original-width="1525" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeV-JQCVdkzytsfcpAnlV2b2k80pnAtED374f5tl3Rfve3K-khNhToJ8KLdulqJj2HY8LWdQRkUgGGhAGWDo5eo4LFCnnIAwjHfRsa6CXM4QSv61aJV5YYVftRmvFgFceL-Z6sEt5EEM-YrNUZTkizh65Be9bWBN0nyys9C9wCsMsM3Vp5Ba5u1Ov1lec/w131-h200/Work.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>World War Two is in full swing and young Judy Rest is on the train to Pinlock, heading to her new job in a munitions factory. She meets Nick Parsons who, coincidently, works at the factory and lives in the village of Pinlock too. On hearing where Judy is to be billeted, Nick is concerned. The house is lived in by three women. Mrs. Former, who owns the property, is elderly but very sweet. So is her daughter, Rose. But the place is lorded over by Clara who is Mrs. Former's grand-daughter in-law; widowed with one son she is autocratic and of a martyred disposition. Mr. Former died recently and Nick is not happy with the circumstances, the house has a bad atmosphere and he suggests to Judy that she find another billet as soon as she can. Judy, always up for a challenge, is not willing to do this of course and Things Ensue. I gather this is the only murder mystery Noel Streatfield wrote. That's a shame because I found this to be very well written with quite a vivid sense of menace in the form of Clara. You realise from the start that she's up to something, so it's not a spoiler. But what? If she's done what we think she's done - how? It seems impossible... A few people on Goodreads have given this one star. Everyone's welcome to their opinion but I couldn't help wondering if they were reading the same book: I loved it. <p></p><p>Next, <i>Journey to Munich</i> by Jacqueline Winspear, book 12 in the author's 'Maisie Dobbs' series. <b>A warning</b>: this review contains spoilers so if you're thinking of starting this series best not to read it. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiedJ-35DmvDKDqsJ6gNJbfYv2rQqFl4dAjNbmaZfWU2LKQlimvrKInCjnY6FX8e8mMMZcfsEgAFpZJW3wA-yJMa9WoXawYljYR4pPcFeFfvVH5fR6nMG4M7JhWFMUJkSCoMkvQtAjtuQrfnYlxSG10jI7lFHry2Hhyphenhyphenoe7HFprnUAB3Co_rVUxP8Ar8kWc/s500/Munich.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="342" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiedJ-35DmvDKDqsJ6gNJbfYv2rQqFl4dAjNbmaZfWU2LKQlimvrKInCjnY6FX8e8mMMZcfsEgAFpZJW3wA-yJMa9WoXawYljYR4pPcFeFfvVH5fR6nMG4M7JhWFMUJkSCoMkvQtAjtuQrfnYlxSG10jI7lFHry2Hhyphenhyphenoe7HFprnUAB3Co_rVUxP8Ar8kWc/w137-h200/Munich.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><p>The year is 1938. Back from Spain but still grieving for her husband, Maisie is staying with her best friend, Priscilla. She doesn't really know what to do with herself but starts searching for a flat in London. Then she's approached by the Secret Service. A Captain of Industry, Leon Donat, has been imprisoned by the Nazis in Germany for having some connection with an illegal newspaper. They've agreed to release him only to a member of his family, which is sly of them because they know his only daughter is in very poor health. Relying on the Nazis not knowing this, the Secret Service want Maisie to impersonate the daughter and go to collect Donat. It is of course an incredibly dangerous mission, made worse by the fact that Maisie will not fly so will need to bring her charge back by train. While in Germany, Maisie has also been asked to look for the daughter of a man she feels is responsible for the death of her husband, the daughter also culpable in her opinion. It seems this girl has become infatuated with Nazism and has abandoned her child to go and live in Nazi Germany. (Shades of Unity Mitford here.) It's an incredibly dangerous can of worms and Maisie knows she'll be lucky not to be discovered as an imposter and locked up herself. This was yet another excellent instalment of this series. I thought the last one, <i>A Dangerous Place</i>, was bit odd but this returns to the usual format, although spying in Germany is not normally what Maisie does. It worked for me though and there was real suspense and menace in the shape of the SS people she had to deal with and of course she has no idea who she can trust in a country that is now frighteningly unstable and extreme. With WW2 rapidly approaching in the series I'm rather eager to read the next one now.</p><p>I shall continue on with my WW2 reading so this will most likely be my next non-fiction read, <i>A Spoonful of Sugar</i> by Brenda Ashford, a tale of the experiences of a Norland Nanny during The War.<br /> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oIoCYA9HcTgUP40LTZ3W0MBl0nuKE5dOsOBFFIE3oBOcclbXAAjj5C39j05sGNrVtdy0VbUO4Gu77oTPt1fu_cNdUdQ2TxZmU_h9MIzgG6d_KzouQ8ZIAew55E4wsJeqondw0dJb0WH-PGXz0egYt2Uh0CNX7A2atjEju-ieaJBgGKKb-kxCirjCdVk/s400/Spoonful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oIoCYA9HcTgUP40LTZ3W0MBl0nuKE5dOsOBFFIE3oBOcclbXAAjj5C39j05sGNrVtdy0VbUO4Gu77oTPt1fu_cNdUdQ2TxZmU_h9MIzgG6d_KzouQ8ZIAew55E4wsJeqondw0dJb0WH-PGXz0egYt2Uh0CNX7A2atjEju-ieaJBgGKKb-kxCirjCdVk/w206-h320/Spoonful.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>And <i>The Festival of Rememberance</i> on TV on Saturday night brought up the subject of the Battle of the Atlantic, convoys, U-boats, that kind of thing. Realising I knew very little about it I grabbed this for my Kindle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvO51urofBW-j4rnv2m_csQzS6kxg-aat68zLJvoFbHEAXl1c3JuMsFTgLznyRuAwxI89iUfSXgcvxmQdcflFC7cWalThDohgrXDAiNCNISnXhBGMabaDptqzWLjoOA4NsIka4qK8QGAURDuQ5f6MO8gjB6wjo0vsqePCYhrc28qX87rYtS6qnJiWpT0/s500/Atlantic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvO51urofBW-j4rnv2m_csQzS6kxg-aat68zLJvoFbHEAXl1c3JuMsFTgLznyRuAwxI89iUfSXgcvxmQdcflFC7cWalThDohgrXDAiNCNISnXhBGMabaDptqzWLjoOA4NsIka4qK8QGAURDuQ5f6MO8gjB6wjo0vsqePCYhrc28qX87rYtS6qnJiWpT0/s320/Atlantic.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><p>I'll probably save it for 2024, when one of my personal challenges will be to read a few books throughout the year dealing with the two world wars. </p><p>I hope you're all keeping well and finding lots of good books to hibernate with. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-51750238124656161342023-11-01T16:26:00.000+00:002023-11-01T16:26:28.105+00:00A quick catch-up and October books<p>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. </p><p>Anyway, a few quick reviews.</p><p>First, <i>The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir</i> by Andrew Neil Macleod.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLOzGIvYW-8Yk1RvNEeL297vXQbFQBbjFITQKO9xaqPDLOrtBpybm8P4C6KTbGdzLjCmPWcjWwiL6l_SsENPEMcT-RnDIknUxgBrYK0bm6_y7IkiZ7DPwiC2bCRJO0Ypa5RWplFL7JdFxi_chikaodvjP51jdwWQ7u6w3o2ywums5clJTTjS402dOgxI/s408/Thomas%20Weir.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLOzGIvYW-8Yk1RvNEeL297vXQbFQBbjFITQKO9xaqPDLOrtBpybm8P4C6KTbGdzLjCmPWcjWwiL6l_SsENPEMcT-RnDIknUxgBrYK0bm6_y7IkiZ7DPwiC2bCRJO0Ypa5RWplFL7JdFxi_chikaodvjP51jdwWQ7u6w3o2ywums5clJTTjS402dOgxI/w125-h200/Thomas%20Weir.png" width="125" /></a></div><p>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.</p><p>Next, a non-fiction book, <i>Along the Enchanted Way </i>by William Blacker. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzK0kgD9riehd5IS87z5ABRH1aiklbXVHyqqb3Enxo5_EGFr2rTJHKBl-NSyAd9AWhu6_TlZR_l4oFE1XTz_vGXmc6XXnBUBsypDli2WufQucPIf-4A-0YDOc1kxcxJcWHUpSrtXuLTqHUfr_rNXyDwR3fd6LuLdBkoY0EBCEqW35DcjEnL933mMizbiw/s500/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzK0kgD9riehd5IS87z5ABRH1aiklbXVHyqqb3Enxo5_EGFr2rTJHKBl-NSyAd9AWhu6_TlZR_l4oFE1XTz_vGXmc6XXnBUBsypDli2WufQucPIf-4A-0YDOc1kxcxJcWHUpSrtXuLTqHUfr_rNXyDwR3fd6LuLdBkoY0EBCEqW35DcjEnL933mMizbiw/w131-h200/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>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 <i>Outlandish</i> 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. </p><p>Lastly, <i>Mr. Mercedes </i>by Stephen King. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQSBqttJZpADrL9IEfhpk1UfbGVVM1xyIPoBdROGIGgLx2MCnueL3mNa1_Ickq6wH1ZPONUrhhFkW59xYxd5BxSWAwfl5kxJVMq3czzWF-mILE0hRt4xNzXhL_K81uAYb9HVoa9gAw3xNpSlV2qhwjXJwNKgtDe842IdBjJO5wqj8i5jaf7f_4gL_cTg/s230/Mr.%20Mercedes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="148" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQSBqttJZpADrL9IEfhpk1UfbGVVM1xyIPoBdROGIGgLx2MCnueL3mNa1_Ickq6wH1ZPONUrhhFkW59xYxd5BxSWAwfl5kxJVMq3czzWF-mILE0hRt4xNzXhL_K81uAYb9HVoa9gAw3xNpSlV2qhwjXJwNKgtDe842IdBjJO5wqj8i5jaf7f_4gL_cTg/s1600/Mr.%20Mercedes.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>So, I don't read many books by Stephen King. I have read a fair few of his short stories but his lengthy horror books don't really appeal. But when I saw in a Booktube video that he had a crime series I wasn't aware of, I thought I'd give it a go. This is the first book in King's 'Bill Hodges' trilogy. Hodges is a retired detective from a city somewhere in the Mid-West of the USA. They don't say where exactly. Retired and not happy about it... so discontented in fact that he thinks of taking his own life. Until a letter arrives on his doorstep. It's from a man who tells him he is 'Mr. Mercedes' the individual who drove a stolen Mercedes into a crowd in the city centre, killing eight people. He was never caught. Hodges suddenly has a reason to stay alive as he sets about tracking a psychopath down with the help of the young man who cuts his lawn and - later - 'Holly' a relative of the woman who committed suicide because it was her car that was stolen and people blamed her for maybe leaving her keys in the ignition. So this was quite a journey. Layer upon layer of things revealed, people becoming involved, and quite a scary killer. The book is told partly from his point of view and - a warning here - his thoughts are extremely unpleasant and so are his actions. This is not a book for everyone. King's writing is always compulsive reading, you can't stop until you get to the end as he builds and builds the tension. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads and yet I have no idea whether I will read on in the series. King always goes just that little bit too far for me and I suspect that this is actually quite tame for him. As always, we will see. <br /><p>Other books read in October:</p><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/10/three-short-reviews.html">The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods</a></p><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/10/three-short-reviews.html">Outlandish - Nick Hunt</a> </p><p><a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/10/three-short-reviews.html">To the Bright Edge of the World - Eowyn Ivey</a><br /></p><p>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. </p><p>I also managed to finish this at long last, a 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle entitled <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">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! <br /></span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe7X9qZFTJp9LvhiMhvhsTV5seU00KYHsFoKXs76qJTA_gFpvm4lsP4Ndg-0hAOfkshOLxN71vd5-wK31-Xup1JnPIQs9oB_uaN8Z0VG2swc7xPnN5tNP_w-6QHV431fEaKHLMM73xQKpRwKoWpv5ZrSxiAVjiYOlrEjgwa07VvVMRtiF7NSrWcVK32k/s1080/395377816_10224300431719902_7077021958357884458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe7X9qZFTJp9LvhiMhvhsTV5seU00KYHsFoKXs76qJTA_gFpvm4lsP4Ndg-0hAOfkshOLxN71vd5-wK31-Xup1JnPIQs9oB_uaN8Z0VG2swc7xPnN5tNP_w-6QHV431fEaKHLMM73xQKpRwKoWpv5ZrSxiAVjiYOlrEjgwa07VvVMRtiF7NSrWcVK32k/w640-h480/395377816_10224300431719902_7077021958357884458_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">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. </span></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-50130375637943233572023-10-17T11:36:00.000+01:002023-10-17T11:36:43.970+01:00Top Ten Tuesday<p>I don't usually do Top Ten Tuesday but I saw on <a href="https://larkwrites.blogspot.com/2023/10/top-ten-tuesday_01941485598.html?sc=1697532106218#c6182907096885135741">Lark's blog</a> that the theme this week is: </p><p><b>Books With Weather Events in the Title... or on the Cover </b> </p><p>Being a true Brit the weather is something of a major preoccupation so I had to do it this week, didn't I?</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nlU0Phz2fGIPxCsqDL1cn61D_Ey9kClbc8bMFBeB319UQLw27_Ogz90kZLVRUWMCrqbkhxjxb345QXGvmzFZqYF8cbuwDEzKgY3CHatKLUzYczqArssusQlHHLdGfyDraj1jJ2rGW5COZBc1HECKRmjBW6wlTTOXoIQavQh_bXt2MhG37m3nod4ZqUU/s768/TTT-new6-768x308.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="768" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nlU0Phz2fGIPxCsqDL1cn61D_Ey9kClbc8bMFBeB319UQLw27_Ogz90kZLVRUWMCrqbkhxjxb345QXGvmzFZqYF8cbuwDEzKgY3CHatKLUzYczqArssusQlHHLdGfyDraj1jJ2rGW5COZBc1HECKRmjBW6wlTTOXoIQavQh_bXt2MhG37m3nod4ZqUU/s320/TTT-new6-768x308.png" width="320" /></a></div>Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jana at <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/">That Artsy Reader Girl</a>.<p></p><p> </p><p>I'll link some of the books to my reviews if I've read the book and can actually find the review. (Some were read before I started this blog.)<br /></p><p>1. First up, a classic that needs no introduction: <i>The Wind in the Willows</i> by Kenneth Grahame. Lots of weather in this one including one of my favourite ever scenes in literature with Mole lost in the Wild Wood in a blizzard.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HtGpAhpnY_Yt2P7xiVw9zCF4-S2ZEDUwvtWNjg2aLGNNKMfoKQLh8rbDWoEafZ7wmjgrbPOmTV41znoX3jUVgdo4L99VLMxcWDtCJRXDavlAHIDCuzg5ObjSyoKw8yDQXAlyoy7Way8B13fRXGAkbQ9zyTyCGX67v8cWld_G2GG1Ry36e6xU7cpsbCE/s289/Wind%20in%20the%20Willows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="266" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HtGpAhpnY_Yt2P7xiVw9zCF4-S2ZEDUwvtWNjg2aLGNNKMfoKQLh8rbDWoEafZ7wmjgrbPOmTV41znoX3jUVgdo4L99VLMxcWDtCJRXDavlAHIDCuzg5ObjSyoKw8yDQXAlyoy7Way8B13fRXGAkbQ9zyTyCGX67v8cWld_G2GG1Ry36e6xU7cpsbCE/w184-h200/Wind%20in%20the%20Willows.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><br /> 2. The next book is weather on the cover, <i>The Long Winter </i>by Laura Ingalls Wilder. To my mind one of the best books ever written about deadly winter weather. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_q6EHRT6kfI-CjABTGGkrLudyOnypqIOXfxOythprFWEK2IXctn9j6vTUjRKiSaQtZJLIJ08MGbUNwS53xG87d5lKpnIJ6rmNMgh6ZDmPsGo2OSwfkvAFqy4ptTecoNLFfl5r9PRPtxttIXw9qhH4NdQ4uK_epC8ERPvcwwvpEmrcJb6GJgJsalzzjc/s320/Winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="189" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_q6EHRT6kfI-CjABTGGkrLudyOnypqIOXfxOythprFWEK2IXctn9j6vTUjRKiSaQtZJLIJ08MGbUNwS53xG87d5lKpnIJ6rmNMgh6ZDmPsGo2OSwfkvAFqy4ptTecoNLFfl5r9PRPtxttIXw9qhH4NdQ4uK_epC8ERPvcwwvpEmrcJb6GJgJsalzzjc/w118-h200/Winter.jpg" width="118" /></a></div><br /><p>3. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2012/11/ill-wind.html">Ill Wind</a> by Nevada Barr is one of her excellent Anna Pigeon books, this one is set in the Mesa Verde NP in Colorado.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZx1e2TRfAfPNAo_NMXmYGhXAbNALOm9LqZVNuo7tunYlLPccGABeePZPh5k1orv49BoNBny9ont4BLNTFDyNdNWUByGVrcWnR2rWuYbfCB1_XBMy39jqNNNWuZzHbsbaCUQaMjuyztn9-3xvUSiYz4-5BQyPJ3RH5VROwR3QTppX32M8E29ySlMOWms/s257/Ill%20Wind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="157" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZx1e2TRfAfPNAo_NMXmYGhXAbNALOm9LqZVNuo7tunYlLPccGABeePZPh5k1orv49BoNBny9ont4BLNTFDyNdNWUByGVrcWnR2rWuYbfCB1_XBMy39jqNNNWuZzHbsbaCUQaMjuyztn9-3xvUSiYz4-5BQyPJ3RH5VROwR3QTppX32M8E29ySlMOWms/w122-h200/Ill%20Wind.jpg" width="122" /></a></div><br /><p>4. Next up, an anthology I'm planning to read in December that I have on my TBR shelf: <i>Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights</i> edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk. Quite excited about this one.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIFBMaDWs6dVisu6SoPregavW3MErZD8Ob3tD10Z1NLQlr9D_m9hJWFDZOk2fxTfwEc8fP_KOjNipjRSMGU-hZajW6A36l5qbgYbNEwgmiwUz2O4Iq6Qkhd-eE0cWx9XOqIqOgzLYxznkY7sJXD-XPvCh5sB8IFixNp7ap6dZSBP8lfQ47aY7QEBFgcUw/s2244/Sunless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2244" data-original-width="1528" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIFBMaDWs6dVisu6SoPregavW3MErZD8Ob3tD10Z1NLQlr9D_m9hJWFDZOk2fxTfwEc8fP_KOjNipjRSMGU-hZajW6A36l5qbgYbNEwgmiwUz2O4Iq6Qkhd-eE0cWx9XOqIqOgzLYxznkY7sJXD-XPvCh5sB8IFixNp7ap6dZSBP8lfQ47aY7QEBFgcUw/w136-h200/Sunless.jpg" width="136" /></a></div><p> </p><p>5. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-couple-of-quick-reviews.html">The Sunny Side of the Alps</a> by Roy Clarke is a lovely non-fiction book about the author's stay in the beautiful country of Slovenia.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7iRJf_CLL84O5pRy5rs0mJ0CAzKacNoEye8-geRVL_vVtSblNqOsVuEh4AXCOX4IVc9mJzUBE2Ol4lFyzt2Wcl5HgT7AfjNZn0-LRB8tf_mRiXz8zXJsqyOl05jvkaFjM6vEdFpqiqrcVnumiO66BAWw39YJig7rTby2YbSV_qs9cKV8usWR6DG8JXE/s475/Sunny%20side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7iRJf_CLL84O5pRy5rs0mJ0CAzKacNoEye8-geRVL_vVtSblNqOsVuEh4AXCOX4IVc9mJzUBE2Ol4lFyzt2Wcl5HgT7AfjNZn0-LRB8tf_mRiXz8zXJsqyOl05jvkaFjM6vEdFpqiqrcVnumiO66BAWw39YJig7rTby2YbSV_qs9cKV8usWR6DG8JXE/w133-h200/Sunny%20side.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><br /><p>6. Another beautiful 'weather' cover is this edition of <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2013/01/high-rising.html">High Rising</a> by Angela Thirkell.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDKV2jEKdAjfmdR_QvHnwAeIc9bJnwtHugQZJi0uTzqZq9FB9YdzKXzfP6tSYPcJNLh1jDZma6ixC5s-LqtL4Wjr0WIf0Hhz2LgFByrEkkb3Nw7FvW3fXmaMjbseKYsHKfOgPUt9fv9OZCMle5gNZJf_LAhEImWEBD6p6Nxad7UgnBg_FfGDoatYEZ1E/s300/High-rising.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="189" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDKV2jEKdAjfmdR_QvHnwAeIc9bJnwtHugQZJi0uTzqZq9FB9YdzKXzfP6tSYPcJNLh1jDZma6ixC5s-LqtL4Wjr0WIf0Hhz2LgFByrEkkb3Nw7FvW3fXmaMjbseKYsHKfOgPUt9fv9OZCMle5gNZJf_LAhEImWEBD6p6Nxad7UgnBg_FfGDoatYEZ1E/w126-h200/High-rising.jpg" width="126" /></a></div> <p></p><p>7. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2021/05/another-catching-up-post.html">Four Cheeks to the Wind</a> by Mary Bryant is an excellent account of the author and her husband's attempt to cycle around the world.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2CbFcWoVDNvPbAY0ckI7xXZDodcvB24n6myWAZcbrv2n_XF9MfPoS_HXtRPy_BZz_qwk_J_TDiI6TeER6GdQDOj3nh8MVhEEyI_XW4vPQ_r5CMDCOL15QTeSvwwLx6JhH6k7D0buUObjxEROOwvq2RwYzbOnkPn97ZQnzfzWOSMeCwgoDzcB0fhIjt0/s200/Four%20Cheeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="133" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2CbFcWoVDNvPbAY0ckI7xXZDodcvB24n6myWAZcbrv2n_XF9MfPoS_HXtRPy_BZz_qwk_J_TDiI6TeER6GdQDOj3nh8MVhEEyI_XW4vPQ_r5CMDCOL15QTeSvwwLx6JhH6k7D0buUObjxEROOwvq2RwYzbOnkPn97ZQnzfzWOSMeCwgoDzcB0fhIjt0/s1600/Four%20Cheeks.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><br /><p>8. Richmal Crompton didn't just write the 'Just William' books she also wrote a lot of books for adults, one of them being <i>Frost at Morning</i>, which I read just before I started this blog in 2007. It's a WW2 novel exploring how the war affected children. A sad but beautiful book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rd5CauXt1aUl7lewxEd61_DHoMyHqjjUaMEzyQ5JngA-F1uquuGBEpJ8pljZ-PWQssgqvWqEPggIy2V8wbd4y_a2i7Zzl4s4-BZO6bXXPs_O7xQ9QYmWhwdYRTOytdhb59J-xDWszzvcIqFJtjgN5TLN_PuhEVWh-wOWqMpD258Xrb71v1U2HxIQC9A/s500/Frost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="339" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rd5CauXt1aUl7lewxEd61_DHoMyHqjjUaMEzyQ5JngA-F1uquuGBEpJ8pljZ-PWQssgqvWqEPggIy2V8wbd4y_a2i7Zzl4s4-BZO6bXXPs_O7xQ9QYmWhwdYRTOytdhb59J-xDWszzvcIqFJtjgN5TLN_PuhEVWh-wOWqMpD258Xrb71v1U2HxIQC9A/w136-h200/Frost.jpg" width="136" /></a></div><br /><p>9. A non-fiction book I own but haven't read yet is <i>Weatherland</i> by Alexandra Harris. This sports a wonderful summery, cloudy sort of cover. It looks fascinating so I'll put in on my pile for 2024.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7zjmKEVC9_n9TKGd9WkbRV2WkV2mZciTuSQu0bgnNIzLnwSVKwG23z_kRm48SAwF5VOIftYyelKiYNM8_H6S73_PVpOv3fFR4jANU1XVkUcL1e8Vea61otoUU8RVQm0TZUozW1myrUBQNzq9TYEOzN_FMvsgEzBG-yE1RXac3AHSnmYap_ta3CtGyzI/s460/weather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7zjmKEVC9_n9TKGd9WkbRV2WkV2mZciTuSQu0bgnNIzLnwSVKwG23z_kRm48SAwF5VOIftYyelKiYNM8_H6S73_PVpOv3fFR4jANU1XVkUcL1e8Vea61otoUU8RVQm0TZUozW1myrUBQNzq9TYEOzN_FMvsgEzBG-yE1RXac3AHSnmYap_ta3CtGyzI/w131-h200/weather.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /><p>10. And lastly, here's a book I don't own, haven't read, but want to. <i>The Storm</i> by Daniel Defoe. Just look at that cover!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S2AsBPwwS5tLpvN60HsdZ8-WGLJMP5vFUevYX7N1jeav-xFL8DwyHRq9-5tJmIfKccK_4CCF3pSJBhe55KUzJNmIw4eousN9SwHK3rOpbod02W8hiXNlgHC3TteVivjJKi6MIdgeLLKjxHgWpoWfnJxMC7TWRHFqwSeXPQvtxirj6YXYMPFsx5Uz5Ic/s1167/The%20Storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1167" data-original-width="759" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S2AsBPwwS5tLpvN60HsdZ8-WGLJMP5vFUevYX7N1jeav-xFL8DwyHRq9-5tJmIfKccK_4CCF3pSJBhe55KUzJNmIw4eousN9SwHK3rOpbod02W8hiXNlgHC3TteVivjJKi6MIdgeLLKjxHgWpoWfnJxMC7TWRHFqwSeXPQvtxirj6YXYMPFsx5Uz5Ic/s320/The%20Storm.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /> Well, that was fun! I should do Top Ten Tuesday more often!<br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-45494708140020706342023-10-14T16:57:00.000+01:002023-10-14T16:57:58.935+01:00Three short reviews <p>Several books behind with reviewing, as is often the case, so without further ado, a few short reviews. <br /></p><p>First,<i> The Lost Bookshop</i> by Evie Woods... my 13th. book for Susan's <a href="http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2022/12/announcing-bookish-books-reading.html">Bookish Books reading challenge</a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQ_AsEIRr5lDtNtsIR8vvY-kQ_Jzj4NPXJY2ym2HO-MOnZjk1o1fFVdozzVssrcXbOSzL95dF_t93nBjIxgUPrlUPp4wPssj6VrDpIgzgTumPJ2MW2h4aLEnYjD02P_MxpgiwxLhCDR6cEYk6CjjPK5CsCkHHvnOY3aecmR2GQcMY1ZMBhIAx-DmTXE0/s2284/Lost%20Bookshop.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2284" data-original-width="1500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQ_AsEIRr5lDtNtsIR8vvY-kQ_Jzj4NPXJY2ym2HO-MOnZjk1o1fFVdozzVssrcXbOSzL95dF_t93nBjIxgUPrlUPp4wPssj6VrDpIgzgTumPJ2MW2h4aLEnYjD02P_MxpgiwxLhCDR6cEYk6CjjPK5CsCkHHvnOY3aecmR2GQcMY1ZMBhIAx-DmTXE0/w131-h200/Lost%20Bookshop.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>So this is a dual timeline story told from three different points of view. There is Opaline who lives in the 1920s, a bright, educated young woman but at the mercy of her older brother who wants her to marry money to get him out of financial difficulties. Desperate, she flees to Paris where she gets a job in the famous bookshop, Shakespeare and co. Fast forward to the present day and Martha who lives in the Irish countryside, is also fleeing, this time from an abusive husband. She lands up in Dublin and lands a job as a sort of house-keeper to an elderly lady, Ms. Bowden. There she meets Henry, who is researching what he thinks is the missing manuscript of an unknown book that Emily Bronte may have written after <i>Wuthering Heights</i>. He's convinced that the empty space next to Ms. Bowden's house is the site of a mysterious 'lost' bookshop that only appears sporadically. The various stories of these three people intertwine as we find out more about what happened to them. I'm not a massive fan of dual timelines but these days they seem to be more and more prevalent so needs must and this one worked nicely for me, so I have no complaints. Both timelines kept my interest and it was fascinating to try and guess where the connections were. There's romance in this, 'lots' of bookish talk, a bit of magical realism which I like but I know not everyone cares for, and also a good dose of reality... the author puts her characters through it a bit, particularly Opaline. I enjoyed the book very much indeed, gave it 5 stars on Goodreads, and will look for more by the author.</p><p>Next, a non-fiction book, <i>Outlandish</i> by Nick Hunt.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8Glcwdv73T18WRxXhOwVa48LRrrBAX2uk4bR2SFuQPxjtdqeWUdzRrP2AcMjCPxJaxMAAU9JfN3MabagK38m714gZOo0A4Z7lpGwr1gzb__m9MVf_dIJaKdVxr4RCgFRfpssAw9M8j09BkvgDhDx8WCppcTYQ0SlzuovQfZFiElL2cuJaSyFb0Fm15g/s400/Outlandish.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="249" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8Glcwdv73T18WRxXhOwVa48LRrrBAX2uk4bR2SFuQPxjtdqeWUdzRrP2AcMjCPxJaxMAAU9JfN3MabagK38m714gZOo0A4Z7lpGwr1gzb__m9MVf_dIJaKdVxr4RCgFRfpssAw9M8j09BkvgDhDx8WCppcTYQ0SlzuovQfZFiElL2cuJaSyFb0Fm15g/w124-h200/Outlandish.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><p>So the author of this book, Nick Hunt, starts to wonder about landscape anomalies in Europe. Why is there a large patch of Arctic tundra in Scotland? Primeval forest in Poland and Belarus? Europe only has one true desert, The Tabernas in Spain, what's it like? And the steppes of Hungary, how do people live there? And how are all these landscapes affected by the huge changes brought about by us humans? He goes off to investigate so the book is split into four sections charting the various experiences he has. First of all I have to say that Hunt's writing is sublime. He transports you to landscapes so diverse from each other but has no trouble making you feel like you're actually there with him. Beautiful descriptions of his surroundings, fascinating stuff about the history of the countries he's in, geological facts, current events, the people he meets, it was a perfect book for me as I do love an author who meanders around all kinds of subjects and points of view. I had favourite sections: the tundra in Scotland and the forest in Poland. Not so interested in the Spanish desert, but it's all stayed with me nevertheless and I'm very keen to read more by Nick Hunt. He's written a book following in the footsteps of Patrick Leigh Fermor - <i>Walking the Woods and the Water</i> - which is already on my Kindle waiting for me. Another 5 star read. </p><p>Lastly my October book for the Read Around the USA challenge, <i>To the Bright Edge of the World</i> by Eowyn Ivey, set in Alaska.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGfa-RMtFxIk5ZOcDoYao6ghoiXz4SDLezIx1iSXRtnK839sFro4rf2WKi_RA3N2sc1ml0me7mI3eB3n-ZgioTw3SPB6sU2vklfb6UbT0xgILlmCYeIN8plyiu5QLWE7w0Mdzl-y6jZu6V2U-XEjLdVtnouTSyFxwoQ26WCaWd_6F-vrEfei4tMSQcB4/s650/Bright%20Edge.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="423" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGfa-RMtFxIk5ZOcDoYao6ghoiXz4SDLezIx1iSXRtnK839sFro4rf2WKi_RA3N2sc1ml0me7mI3eB3n-ZgioTw3SPB6sU2vklfb6UbT0xgILlmCYeIN8plyiu5QLWE7w0Mdzl-y6jZu6V2U-XEjLdVtnouTSyFxwoQ26WCaWd_6F-vrEfei4tMSQcB4/w130-h200/Bright%20Edge.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><p>So, this was unusual in that it was a fiction book that, because it was written in the form of diaries and letters with occasional photos, felt like a non-fiction read. Colonel Allen Forrester is tasked with leading an expedition to the Wolverine river in Alaska with the idea of it being opened up to the wider world. With him goes his new wife, Sophie. She's an explorer at heart too but being a woman it's far more difficult to achieve and at the last minute she's unable to leave Vancouver and he goes without her. He is accompanied by a team of course, but truly has no idea of the hardships ahead and how much the indigenous peoples will affect his journey or test his beliefs in the real world. Sophie meanwhile, is also tested. I won't go into how as it involves spoilers but it is all rather painful: luckily she discovers a new interest which saves her. Another superb read... as I said, very much a fictional story in the manner of a non-fiction travelogue. There's disaster after disaster in the wilds of Alaska, but amazing descriptions of the wilderness landscape, the almost insurmountable difficulties of travelling over it and encounters with the native tribes. There is magical realism in this one again, involving the beliefs of the tribes, I liked that but some might not. Another really excellent read. </p><p>So my current read is this: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiha-kpzOeSkKW9hpfSLGENaDTBf1ntaBA7pecohLHzkRtcyIoqV8du4qBqeGD5AnN6BH70jWxJCq21EnBDeVMmiTy1J64XbvTIKl5hA-u3bcLg7XBW4Rx2GL54hNYV3hagP8xTobMWcz7AyS1iDy79ykW3H6gDtRGw064JgvAjnkuZhvLDxjqmplTIqgA/s500/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiha-kpzOeSkKW9hpfSLGENaDTBf1ntaBA7pecohLHzkRtcyIoqV8du4qBqeGD5AnN6BH70jWxJCq21EnBDeVMmiTy1J64XbvTIKl5hA-u3bcLg7XBW4Rx2GL54hNYV3hagP8xTobMWcz7AyS1iDy79ykW3H6gDtRGw064JgvAjnkuZhvLDxjqmplTIqgA/w131-h200/Enchanted%20Way.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>Inspired by the Polish and Hungarian section in<i> Outlandish</i>, my interest in Eastern Europe returned so I found <i>Along the Enchanted Way</i> by William Blacker on my Kindle. It recounts the author's time spent living in the Maramures region of northern Romania, an area where, at the time, the lifestyle was centuries old... very rural, of the forests and mountains, many old traditions alive and well, fascinating people. It's a wonderful book. </p><p>Fictionwise, I've no idea what I want to read next, possibly something Victorian for the Booktube event, 'Victober'. </p><p>I hope you're all keeping well and enjoying some good books this autumn (or spring if you're in another hemisphere.) </p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-59684037296626327752023-10-01T10:52:00.000+01:002023-10-01T10:52:10.132+01:00Books read in September<p>It seemed to me that September had no sooner arrived than it was gone. I'm sure time is speeding up! And now it really is autumn with leaves dropping and gales coming in from The Atlantic. Love it. <br /></p><p>So, books read in September, by me, numbered 7. (Feel free to say that as Len Goodman would have. :-) )</p><p>75. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/09/i-have-been-reading.html">Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt</a></p><p>76. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/09/i-have-been-reading.html">Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson</a></p><p>77. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/09/i-have-been-reading.html">Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree</a> </p><p>78. <i>The United States of Adventure - </i>Anna McNuff. (This has an alternate title of <i>50 Shades of the USA</i>.) I read this for the Read Around the USA challenge I'm doing, this category was 'a book that covers multiple states'. The author, a British cyclist, decides to cycle every state of the USA, taking 6 months to do it. Some states she really just passed into and out of an hour later but others she spent time in properly. I enjoyed this a lot especially reading about the people she met who were so kind to her. But my gosh, what an endeavour! Amazing. </p><p>79. <i>The Belial Stone</i> - R.D. Brady. This was a Dan Brown type mix of adventure, archaeology, paranormal thriller - all life was there. There's an ancient source of power that needs to be found before someone or some'thing' gets hold of it and destroys the world. Enjoyable romp, first book in a series that's already 14 books long. I have book 2 as it's about a hidden library in Ecuador, but how much further I'll go after that I'm not sure. <br /></p><p>80. <i>The Mystery of 31 New Inn</i> - R. Austin Freeman.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3tzwNfvcdKuxlm8rG-zywwbHLds2k8s9A68u50aTbq9CcAfLU8hEuGf6vsgn68D8w1g4T_gIv3wacSGnmVt1YvPbdCRV_jIlfhXCvAD7RLeyrGWvPaWToQCMQ3hpPo0i7BgLlYhP6V4PPouqefwO3Qc2LSAcb7biJTxUPbjk9Xcf3IPcq8drH3uR7AE/s398/New%20Inn.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3tzwNfvcdKuxlm8rG-zywwbHLds2k8s9A68u50aTbq9CcAfLU8hEuGf6vsgn68D8w1g4T_gIv3wacSGnmVt1YvPbdCRV_jIlfhXCvAD7RLeyrGWvPaWToQCMQ3hpPo0i7BgLlYhP6V4PPouqefwO3Qc2LSAcb7biJTxUPbjk9Xcf3IPcq8drH3uR7AE/w160-h200/New%20Inn.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><p>This is a London based novella published in 1912. R. Austin Freeman wrote a load of books and short stories featuring his detective Dr. Thorndyke, and this one of those. A friend of Thorndyke's, Dr. Jervis, takes a position standing in for another doctor while he's on holiday. He's called out in the middle of the night but the situation is very mysterious as he's not allowed to see where it is he's being taken in the enclosed coach. When he gets there the patient is clearly either suffering from sleeping sickness or an overdose of morphine and the two people whose care he's in are very odd indeed. Something is clearly not right and Jervis needs Thorndyke to help him solve the mystery. I always like the style in which these early 20th. century crime yarns are written, they're always well written with a nice sense of the macabre. The two drs. are very much in the vein of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with one of them knowing everything and the other not so much. I enjoyed this but thought it was more of a short story padded out than a book in its own right. Not bad though and I'll read more when I come across them.</p><p>81. <i>The Night Hawks</i> - Elly Griffiths.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtPIWmDS065rHRSKiJKTl5ZYWXMaWMnOOBTCb5JJTxqUw1teLJDy2JJ-ODAp-NDLd1SEljd316UYbAeZGrzjqZTSQRupC2zlUfrNad9fsZqbYwpXUoUJPCGc-ESpeN54hjivz6zRg_1Uv4Xif6sg00vhElyx9JvX-RK8TSV3QXnZAURCWBEvrDQL7gu8/s500/Nighthawks.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtPIWmDS065rHRSKiJKTl5ZYWXMaWMnOOBTCb5JJTxqUw1teLJDy2JJ-ODAp-NDLd1SEljd316UYbAeZGrzjqZTSQRupC2zlUfrNad9fsZqbYwpXUoUJPCGc-ESpeN54hjivz6zRg_1Uv4Xif6sg00vhElyx9JvX-RK8TSV3QXnZAURCWBEvrDQL7gu8/w131-h200/Nighthawks.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>So, this is book 13 in the author's well known Ruth Galloway series. Ruth is now head of archaeology at the fictitious University of North Norfolk after a brief foray in Cambridge. Metal detectorists who don't abide by the rules are known as Night Hawks, although the group who find a dead body on a beach are not in fact of that ilk, their leader has just called the group that. Alongside the dead body is found a bronze-age burial so Ruth is called in. Meanwhile Nelson is called to a lonely farmhouse where a murder/suicide of a man and his wife have taken place. Eventually, of course, the two cases collide in the middle. So, I loved this as I do every Ruth Galloway book but had the sense that Griffiths was coming to the end of her interest in the series and indeed she has said that book 15 is the last but possibly not forever. I find each instalment strangely addictive, once I start reading I simply can't stop and I think quite a lot of people are the same. Ruth's thoughts have always brought a lot of humour to the books but this time I found that humour to be not quite there. I still enjoyed the ongoing saga of her personal life with Nelson and the cast of extra characters, all different, all with their complicated lives... Cathbad the druid is a favourite and has been since the start. I shall miss Ruth when I have no more books in the series to read. </p><p>So that was my month of September in books. Standouts were <i>Remarkably Bright Creatures, Legends and Lattes, The United States of Adventure</i> and <i>The Night Hawks</i>. I consider it to be a pretty good reading month when you have four really good books out of seven and the rest weren't actually terrible either. <br /></p><p>At the moment I'm struggling to decide on another fiction book after setting aside two after 30 or so pages. I am reading this non-fiction though:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi4RFt1ljVD3GB6LyFGjJF0ARme20RWR_jY13tvNiSHiOIP_KIyKHlyVRe-9eL8kVWe36U3yzO99Sep6ROWTz77o2bW5ObnYbXV7PGwPCo3Ln3gCX2uw9cm0iKTLp12nupFNBmUUJ01K-9jwbweKdv5zgQ5UYOY1La1ckdFnYFu5lpMfd23SLDxrnJnA/s400/Outlandish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="249" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi4RFt1ljVD3GB6LyFGjJF0ARme20RWR_jY13tvNiSHiOIP_KIyKHlyVRe-9eL8kVWe36U3yzO99Sep6ROWTz77o2bW5ObnYbXV7PGwPCo3Ln3gCX2uw9cm0iKTLp12nupFNBmUUJ01K-9jwbweKdv5zgQ5UYOY1La1ckdFnYFu5lpMfd23SLDxrnJnA/w124-h200/Outlandish.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Outlandish</i> by Nick Hunt is split into four sections all dealing with various wilderness areas that are sort of in the wrong place, Arctic tundra in Scotland, primeval forest in Poland, the only European desert in Spain and grassland steppes in Hungary. The writing in this is sublime and I'm absolutely 'loving' it. Will look for more books by him when I've finished this. <br /></p><p>Happy October! I hope your families are doing better than mine healthwise, it seems to be one thing after another for us. Thank goodness for good books. I hope you all have an excellent reading month. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-60059741592937006572023-09-13T14:33:00.000+01:002023-09-13T14:33:42.493+01:00I have been reading...<p>Several books to talk about today, all of them to some degree 'hyped' books that I've seen around the blogging world and Booktube a lot. But did they live up to the hype?<br /></p><p> I'll start with, <i>Remarkably Bright Creatures</i> by Shelby Van Pelt.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6dRNHYr8sdURO5x_mBydYBET8hW45goLm5B3sX84YfnPYzSCaTK7aPo8LsLc83O2RA1z-fqgxgslrF6ObP2Qe17AX2Bz_oRmp0gdYwk9kM4LIK0CNiVKy0KrKH6MJqxZn21OXE6Z0SnSeLV5eTVhzuVbVAegAZ2VbFcsKSir0W3i1Ry97SFee_SoMpE/s874/Remarkably.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="568" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6dRNHYr8sdURO5x_mBydYBET8hW45goLm5B3sX84YfnPYzSCaTK7aPo8LsLc83O2RA1z-fqgxgslrF6ObP2Qe17AX2Bz_oRmp0gdYwk9kM4LIK0CNiVKy0KrKH6MJqxZn21OXE6Z0SnSeLV5eTVhzuVbVAegAZ2VbFcsKSir0W3i1Ry97SFee_SoMpE/w130-h200/Remarkably.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><p>Tova Sullivan, an elderly woman of Swedish descent, lives in the town of Sowell Bay, a couple of hours north of Seattle, WA. She's a widow who likes to keep busy so has a job as a cleaner at the local aquarium. It gets her out of house and also takes her mind off the loss of her son, Erik, some 30 years ago. He was 18, his body was never found and no one really knows what happened to him. Tova loves all of the sea creatures in the aquarium but has a special affection for Marcellus, the giant Pacific octopus. She stands and talks to him every day and can actually see him listening to her. One evening she finds him almost dead on the floor, and helps him back to his tank. Thus begins a unique friendship wherein Marcellus is instrumental in finding out what happened to Erik. This is one of those much hyped books that a lot of people seemed to have been reading lately, and no wonder as it really is a delightful read. I like books with older protagonists and lots of ordinary folk in them and this book has a nice interesting cast of characters. My favourite by far was Marcellus the octopus and I loved the chapters penned by him. My least favourite was Cameron, the young man drawn north to look for his unknown father in Sowell Bay: for at least half the book he was entitled and annoying. There was a lovely sense of a faded resort on Puget Sound and thus a good sense of place... it sounded wonderful to me anyway! An excellent read, lived up to its hype.</p><p>Next, <i>Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone</i> by Benjamin Stevenson.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ViQuH1bwdUPJKwMaxyiMMmt0v2dksA3GRFlb19uoVeQtDhNRS27gELfmciTsU0nhAVIisINLdB0LO_wUa5Zh3LuLSyjFj9Qx4uQFaWE9I8B-fz7dCqF6pnyYPH1VsqaiV-cfVZ4ZJcmmpd0wZO5yAcx7AomWUv7Py_t7up3AvCXWtjPkwqVsAgTffDQ/s500/Everyone.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ViQuH1bwdUPJKwMaxyiMMmt0v2dksA3GRFlb19uoVeQtDhNRS27gELfmciTsU0nhAVIisINLdB0LO_wUa5Zh3LuLSyjFj9Qx4uQFaWE9I8B-fz7dCqF6pnyYPH1VsqaiV-cfVZ4ZJcmmpd0wZO5yAcx7AomWUv7Py_t7up3AvCXWtjPkwqVsAgTffDQ/w131-h200/Everyone.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>Ernest Cunningham has been summoned to a family reunion in the mountains, somewhere in Australia. He's somewhat surprised as he doesn't have a lot to do with them having turned in his brother, Michael, for murder. The brother is now out of prison and due to meet them all in the mountains. Ernest has no idea what his reception will be. What he doesn't expect is a dead body in the snow, and for nobody to know who it is. The lone policeman immediately arrests his brother when he finally arrives, it seems he was out of prison earlier than they were told. Michael decides that Ernest should be the one to investigate and try to prove him innocent... but does Ernest himself believe that? So this was one of those tongue-in-cheek books, written in a style where the narrator - Ernest - chats away to the reader of the book telling her or him how it is that his family are a bunch of killers, be it by accident or intent. There wasn't a single person in it I liked and I must admit to finding the writing style tiresome. I thought the author was trying too hard to pay homage to Golden Age crime yarns. I did like the mystery itself and that's what kept me going until the end, which I thought was quite clever. One thing that did surprise me was the absence of any sense of 'Australia', it really could have been anywhere. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads so it was 'OK' but it should be said that a lot of people like it a lot more than I did. Did not, for me anyway, live up to the hype.<br /></p><p>Lastly, <i>Legends and Lattes</i> by Travis Baldree.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDz2NwrFBlvZy2vNbAt8Sf9vgSTKTQKAMvfkxiv9ZbtqgC8_HaMQhci4HBP3x0WfGUNiM0xeFWlcp6gXQza8F9SkboShJIFnvUthXVmdzBfFenyZd-VpkhNvsyx98-HlDKn6l5IDCqh1qkjRzbOMLo7HAcM0XbBaUole0VVBB6jSNwrFAjT-GKt0WVpiw/s1000/Legends.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDz2NwrFBlvZy2vNbAt8Sf9vgSTKTQKAMvfkxiv9ZbtqgC8_HaMQhci4HBP3x0WfGUNiM0xeFWlcp6gXQza8F9SkboShJIFnvUthXVmdzBfFenyZd-VpkhNvsyx98-HlDKn6l5IDCqh1qkjRzbOMLo7HAcM0XbBaUole0VVBB6jSNwrFAjT-GKt0WVpiw/s320/Legends.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><p>So, 'Viv' is an adventurer, an Orc in fact, who has tired of adventuring. She needs a new career so lands up in the city of Thune with a plan to bring coffee to the masses. Coffee is not known here, it's Dwarfish thing Viv discovered while in one of their cities. She fell in love with it and thinks there must be a gap in the market and the possiblility of a new life here in Thune. She finds a shop to convert, a Hob for a carpenter, a Succubus as a barmaid and a genius baker in the shape of a Rattkin. Slowly but surely people are drawn to the new coffee shop. But all is not plain sailing, there's a protection racket going on and Viv has to decide whether she's left her former violent life behind her or not. I was reminded quite strongly of Terry Pratchett while I was reading this although his trademark humour and way with words is not present in this book. It's described as 'cozy fantasy' and that's pretty accurate. I thought it was absolutely charming and the cast of characters delightful. Not a lot happens (that could be said of a lot of books) but somehow the author manages to make the setting up of a new business absolutely rivetting and that's quite clever in my opinion. Loved it and happily gave it 5 stars. Definitely lived up to the hype! </p><p> </p><p>So, I'm currently reading this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg--xUZsAMUMR-39FS4uYNIZU4RkvnZLcYKdlo1Fq3uV9w3RtyKjRJIShhWmcV1GxFGSjMvnsN65olGV5zEheFlbAvPTIo0x3xmWcsNsotUo5cEzijuBmUXc_ShjJIGiSue1wP4EHTV3HxEVhG33G8j--E5c6ithSBXUSqMgDc_7HQK3MZYZwt0NQTJFdI/s1360/The%20United%20States.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="850" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg--xUZsAMUMR-39FS4uYNIZU4RkvnZLcYKdlo1Fq3uV9w3RtyKjRJIShhWmcV1GxFGSjMvnsN65olGV5zEheFlbAvPTIo0x3xmWcsNsotUo5cEzijuBmUXc_ShjJIGiSue1wP4EHTV3HxEVhG33G8j--E5c6ithSBXUSqMgDc_7HQK3MZYZwt0NQTJFdI/w125-h200/The%20United%20States.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><br /><p><i>The United States of Adventure</i> charts the author, Anna McNuff's, cycling trip through every state of the USA (and part of Canada at the beginning). This is for The Bookgirls' USA challenge I'm doing and so far it's excellent. (NB this has an alternative title, <i>Fifty Shades of the USA</i> but I don't know if that's the American title or the British. The UK Kindle title is the former version, which I prefer.) <br /></p><p>I hope you'e all well and enjoying some good autumn reading!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-52570984209851044512023-09-03T10:55:00.000+01:002023-09-03T10:55:18.768+01:00Books read in August<p>Despite all that's been going on this last month, I still managed to read 10 books. Of course, it could be 'because' of it all I've read 10 books... they do make a good escape from reality!</p><p>Anyhow, the books:<br /></p><p>65. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/08/books-read-in-july.html">My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni</a></p><p>66. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/08/books-read-in-july.html">The Murder of Mr. Wickham - Claudia Gray</a></p><p>67. <i>The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</i> - Agatha Christie (a reread and very good) </p><p>68. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/08/i-have-been-reading.html">The Left-handed Booksellers of London - Garth Nix</a></p><p>69. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/08/i-have-been-reading.html">A Murder of Crows - Sarah Yarwood-Lovett</a> </p><p>70. <i>The People on Platform 5</i> - Clare Pooley. I've nabbed the synopsis from Goodreads for speed. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ppyouR-z2Hjizv1G5-ze09YjVBgrvaR_e0YDInQyIfU6PYtuyVolY5ugRKnkPFdGZFMQ6bCnv9MCA8eb5wTDnkxYdKrM9f2JpGFJtbu822_k26wWSJU0pj6x9krLmlVh64212BoL6DXeA0EOgApyYiERPWWgNKRNSeAeUe_E6TUF7kUBX_XW0KCZn4I/s500/Platform%205.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ppyouR-z2Hjizv1G5-ze09YjVBgrvaR_e0YDInQyIfU6PYtuyVolY5ugRKnkPFdGZFMQ6bCnv9MCA8eb5wTDnkxYdKrM9f2JpGFJtbu822_k26wWSJU0pj6x9krLmlVh64212BoL6DXeA0EOgApyYiERPWWgNKRNSeAeUe_E6TUF7kUBX_XW0KCZn4I/w130-h200/Platform%205.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><i><span class="Formatted">Every day Iona Iverson, a larger-than-life
magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to
Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she
sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname:
Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm and Terribly-Lonely-Teenager. Of course, they
never speak. Seasoned commuters never do.<br /><br />Then one morning, the
man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in
front of her. He’d have died were it not for the timely intervention of
Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver. This single event
starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost
nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter
can blossom into much more. It turns out that talking to strangers can
teach you about the world around you--and even more about yourself.</span></i><p></p><p><span class="Formatted">I enjoyed this immensely. I'm rapidly developing a taste for this kind of character-based contemporary fiction<i>. </i>It's a 'found<i> </i>family' tale of unlikely </span><span class="Formatted">people who slowly become friends and form a real support network. Secrets abound and personal decisions and discoveries need to be made. It's well written and I felt very involved in the lives of all of the characters. Nice one.</span></p><p><span class="Formatted">71. <i>Holy Ghosts</i> - edited by Fiona Snailham is another of the British Libraries' weird collections. There were several stand-out stories in this but quite a few others I'd already read or weren't that great so overall a bit disappointing but fine for anyone who hasn't read 'any' churchy weird fiction at all. </span></p><p><span class="Formatted">72. <i>Lady Susan</i> by Jane Austen is not one of her main six novels of course, it's an epistolary novella about a woman who is pretty awful. She foists herself on family for long visits and then sets about scheming to make husbands fall in love with her, thereby causing as much chaos as she can. It was very, very good. </span></p><p><span class="Formatted">73. <i>Childhood's End</i> - Arthur C. Clarke. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZyjQtQTIzRatnP-RJj4fi5uJR-l0YPCyWBVEUCcgV3GXtKT-21GACy5sZD93IRfGdw8cFRSrrYygvKG2flHstnab3GqsvJjwPOA8_ykI2eNicIiWPzNSJzD_zN725OEXah2CmidqZF1bt3qHjPEI4jOIykTNwKIlvccb2z6dy54e7Vy6U2KBXQJn-Tc/s346/Childhood.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZyjQtQTIzRatnP-RJj4fi5uJR-l0YPCyWBVEUCcgV3GXtKT-21GACy5sZD93IRfGdw8cFRSrrYygvKG2flHstnab3GqsvJjwPOA8_ykI2eNicIiWPzNSJzD_zN725OEXah2CmidqZF1bt3qHjPEI4jOIykTNwKIlvccb2z6dy54e7Vy6U2KBXQJn-Tc/w127-h200/Childhood.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>This is classic science fiction, published the year of my birth, 1953. <p></p><p><span class="Formatted"><i>When the silent spacecraft arrived and took the
light from the world, no one knew what to expect. But, although the
Overlords kept themselves hidden from man, they had come to unite a
warring world and to offer an end to poverty and crime. When they
finally showed themselves it was a shock, but one that humankind could
now cope with, and an era of peace, prosperity and endless leisure
began.</i><br /><br />These older, classic sci-fi yarns don't always work for me but this one did. I thoroughly enjoyed this speculation on what would happen if an alien race suddenly appeared and demanded we stop warring with each other. Things begin to happen of course and it's intriguing and makes you think. I wasn't mad about the outcome but there you go. Well written and very readable indeed.</span></p><p><span class="Formatted">74. <i>The Accidental Detectorist </i>- Nigel Richardson.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTU3E3swjhCRyuKes2IkjcQSjxWMYWZ2KdU6Bh4NoggyNfNgt8pT6Fu-xnr6j8j0Q6lEsDyjNWWN2i-xC6RdvvAld0vVa9XaE56U2HFAzWUgZchwtnOyfDyObu3R8WmBWxEWjAxXGG9Hpy367AlRXBOBX4tIU6ACTV7wtrCMW2377_gqNZdMgGUv_uHlA/s500/Detectorist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTU3E3swjhCRyuKes2IkjcQSjxWMYWZ2KdU6Bh4NoggyNfNgt8pT6Fu-xnr6j8j0Q6lEsDyjNWWN2i-xC6RdvvAld0vVa9XaE56U2HFAzWUgZchwtnOyfDyObu3R8WmBWxEWjAxXGG9Hpy367AlRXBOBX4tIU6ACTV7wtrCMW2377_gqNZdMgGUv_uHlA/w133-h200/Detectorist.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>This, my only non-fiction read for August, was just delightful. The author, a travel writer, decides to take up metal detecting during lockdown. He joins other detectorists to learn what to look for, which equipment he needs, where to search (nowhere where you haven't got the relevant permissions in place) and so on. It was so fascinating to read about the various people he meets who do this, how welcoming they are are and how they go about the countryside digging it up. You can't say you're a detectorist unless you've found a 'hammered' appparently - this is a sort of handmade coin from before they started minting properly. Poor Nigel has awful trouble finding one while all around him are digging them up by the ton. There's a nice amount of history in the book, interesting facts about hoards that have been discovered, that sort of thing. This was my favourite read of the month and made me head to the BBC's iPlayer to try their series 'Detectorists' starring Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook and Rachel Stirling (Diana Rigg's daughter). It's charming and very British. <span class="Formatted">This is a book I highly recommend if you like 'quirky British'. <br /></span><p>Anyway, it' nice to be back after a two week blogging break and an odd two weeks it's
been. When the medical profession describes something you have as
'interesting' it's never a Good Thing. Hubby's leg is now on the mend
but although he had cellulitis we have no idea what caused it or where
the open wound came from a week after he was diagnosed or why he needed 3
lots of serious antibiotics to rid himself of it. The theory is some
kind of insect bite on the cellulitis area but, all in all, he feels
like being 'interesting' is vastly over-rated and I'm inclined to agree!</p><p>I hope you had a good reading month in August? I'm delighted to welcome in September. Although it's not officially autumn until the 21st. I do think that once September arrives summer is more or less behind us and that's fine with me. Not a fan of summer. </p><p>Happy September reading! I shall be thinking about what I want to read this autumn and perhaps do a post about it soon. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-67723810172339754172023-08-22T10:35:00.000+01:002023-08-22T10:35:13.611+01:00Blogging break<p>I've decided to take a blogging break for a couple of weeks while my husband's cellulitis heals. He has a nasty open wound on his leg now, it's worrying but he's on a second lot of antibiotics so hopefully those will do the trick. It doesn't help that diabetics don't heal as quickly as the rest of us of course and I can worry for England which also doesn't help. I will still probably be around commenting on blog posts but am just not in the mood at the moment to do book reviews. Take care and enjoy the rest of August! <br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-80766139850342310602023-08-14T15:43:00.000+01:002023-08-14T15:43:36.186+01:00I have been reading...<p>Yet another catch-up post from me. I've been reading but not enthusiastically for some reason. Possibly not finding books to suit my mood right now. </p><p>I was almost halfway through <i>The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</i> by Agatha Christie before I realised I'd read it before. Checking Goodreads, it was 2016, long enough for me to have forgotten whodunit so I carried on. Good book, even on the second reading.</p><p>Then I read a YA fantasy, <i>The Left-handed Booksellers of London</i> by Garth Nix, my 12th. book for Susan's <a href="http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2022/12/announcing-bookish-books-reading.html">Bookish Books Reading challenge</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQp45ze3fD82zFptTD5PwpsKTO_SLnUt1qAvpRjyaUuELN7y_zw1k2277xDXyoKGuFDgXApxbW31WoY8RHdD3v__org16p71WxjflnZpt0fZTA4VmA7y-wFQiLwFbKUv0OUo8hdV4I4ubgSZeBEF-9ZPQu6IhUFOPpu31GzymyGPn4GcngOUM1MpSb_k/s2560/Left-handed.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1685" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQp45ze3fD82zFptTD5PwpsKTO_SLnUt1qAvpRjyaUuELN7y_zw1k2277xDXyoKGuFDgXApxbW31WoY8RHdD3v__org16p71WxjflnZpt0fZTA4VmA7y-wFQiLwFbKUv0OUo8hdV4I4ubgSZeBEF-9ZPQu6IhUFOPpu31GzymyGPn4GcngOUM1MpSb_k/w132-h200/Left-handed.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><p>Susan Arkshaw has just turned 18. She lives with her airy-fairy mother in Somerset, a mother who will not talk about who Susan's father is. Longing to get away, she gets a place at an art college in London but sets off early with the idea of starting a search for her father. Going to see an uncle she's just in time to see him turned to dust by 'Merlin', a young man who is a member of a secret organisation, The Booksellers of London. They are guardians a of a sort, protecting the world from the dangerous creatures of myth and legend of The Old World. The Booksellers fall into two categories, left-handed or right and thus have different skills and abilities. It soon becomes apparent that there's something different about Susan and someone sees her existence as dangerous. Who, from The Old World, is after her? It's quite clear that her father really must be found. So, this was a fun read. A bit sort of 'Chosen One' in theme, but that's fine as I quite like that. I thought the world building - an alternate 1983 - was very good: Garth Nix is a seasoned author with a lot of experience of that, witness his 'Old Kingdom' series, which is terrific. There're a lot of bookish references in the story, so that's fun. I enjoyed the dash across England to The Lake District too. So, not a bad start to a new series, I think book 2, <i>The Sinister Booksellers of Bath,</i> is already out so I'll read that at some point. </p><p>Lastly, <i>A Murder of Crows</i> by Sarah Yardwood-Lovett. This was free with Prime Reading, along with the next two in the series.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupN-R7V8Txr0amzGUbXfwnWxmDvrAoJuqXggqskHH75uoHCzezDyqAYPMa0dbgNEnA8qYg2qZD5QGIm5ry2O3h709gDxB5dtPaP94TEfdOH9I5hcZa7nEz2Ibp-Id_yPtN6iSsUca3JFHZrgO0GaB4GrhKY4AZ2bBswkPjJbtbQI9pKDJLPV7VBC3o0Y/s346/Crows.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="226" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupN-R7V8Txr0amzGUbXfwnWxmDvrAoJuqXggqskHH75uoHCzezDyqAYPMa0dbgNEnA8qYg2qZD5QGIm5ry2O3h709gDxB5dtPaP94TEfdOH9I5hcZa7nEz2Ibp-Id_yPtN6iSsUca3JFHZrgO0GaB4GrhKY4AZ2bBswkPjJbtbQI9pKDJLPV7VBC3o0Y/w131-h200/Crows.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Dr. Nell Ward is an Ecologist. Bats are more or less her life apart from the secrets she doesn't share with her colleagues. She's surveying a tunnel that runs under a house when she hears an odd noise and leaves because it unnerves her. Next thing she knows she's a suspect in a murder case because a woman is found dead not far from where she was... the woman she was supposed to meet at the house a bit later in fact. She didn't know her but the police thinks she did and things begin to spiral out of control very quickly. Because she knows the police are barking up the wrong tree and that there's a murderer on the loose, Nell and her colleague, Adam, begin to investigate. It's not long before Nell begins to suspect she's been set up. So, this was another quite enjoyable crime yarn. The ecological aspect was different but I did feel the author wanted us to know how much she knew about bats. I felt like quite the expert by the time I'd finished the book. I also felt the triangular love interest thing was rather a distraction, two men after one woman is ok for a bit but I got the feeling this was going to drag on into subsequent books and could quickly become old. (I completely agree that I'm ancient and thus not the target audience for this kind of thing.) Anyway, not a bad first book, different enough to keep me reading the Prime Reading instalments but possibly not enough to buy a load. <br /><p>Having talked briefly last time about my husband's various illnesses, he
caught me on the hop last week and found a new one: Cellulitis. We've
no clue where it came from but the angry, red inflammation on his leg
turned out to be just that and I'm so glad we nipped to the doctor
sharpish and caught it early. A lot of people worry about bothering the
dr. unnecessarily, including 'me'. My advice is 'don't'. If
something's doesn't look right, it probably isn't - get it looked at.
Here endeth the first lesson...</p><p>Happy reading, August here in the UK continues to feel just like autumn and that's fine by me but I do feel for people around the world who're going through awful things at the moment, the island of Maui for instance. We live in challenging times. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3958492963483272678.post-23763020616240188312023-08-03T15:54:00.000+01:002023-08-03T15:54:11.639+01:00Books read in July <p>I seem to have been a little AWOL recently. No particular reason, just busy, July seemed to be full of routine medical appointments for my husband, he's diabetic with heart problems, a newish tendency towards pneumonia and now cataracts that need operating on. Fun, fun. In better news it's our Golden wedding anniversary tomorrow, I'm not certain where 50 years went but 'went' it did... We'll be celebrating over the weekend with the family.<br /></p><p>So, I have been reading but not as much as usual: I read just six books in July, although I've just finished two others started last month too, so it's more than 6 really but I will count those for August as it makes no difference whatsoever. </p><p>These are the books:<br /></p><p>59. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/07/i-have-been-reading.html">The Fatal Flying Affair - T.E. Kinsey</a></p><p>60. <i>A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Reasons Why We Can't Stop Reading Jane Austen, </i>edited by Susannah Carson. This is pretty much what it says on the tin - 33 essays by all and sundry about Jane Austen's books, characters, the settings and of course Austen's life. I've been reading this slowly for months and it was well worth the effort, very interesting indeed.</p><p>61. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/07/a-couple-of-reviews-one-fantasy-one.html">Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett</a></p><p>62. <a href="https://read-warbler.blogspot.com/2023/07/a-couple-of-reviews-one-fantasy-one.html">The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires - Grady Hendrix</a></p><p>63. <i>Every Dead Thing</i> - John Connolly. I've read 13 of Connolly's 'Charlie Parker' books but never read book 1... now I have. Parker's wife and small daughter are brutally murdered and policeman, Parker, follows the trail to New Orleans to root out the culprit. Truthfully, I don't think I learnt anything I didn't already know but I'm glad I've now read the first book. I fancy subsequent books are better though.</p><p>64. <i>Jane Austen: A Life</i> - Claire Tomalin. An absolutely superb biography of Jane Austen. I learnt *so* much and found knowing these things helps make more sense of her books . Highly recommend.</p><p>Looking at Goodreads I see I gave every book I read 4 stars apart from <i>Jane Austen: A Life</i> to which I gave 5. So it was clearly a pretty good reading month despite being a bit on the slow side. </p><p>Quick reviews of the two books just finished.</p><p>First up, <i>My Sister's Grave</i> by Robert Dugoni.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-buWNaKWehogPEuYdI_9lkwLAdFAFrcfSel-1comAwx2TYInb25UtGT-w-Edkns7FAFGDx3DHUyoQkA8ZgQaPlYxxAzvYhvKte909-LP4-rNLkQzdh8dspfgy4mj7nMRLpDyKOfgDbb9EePCps45QzqJv1O4ovNlsDdqtZcIGt9NfJ21Nf5FcdqFSTY/s475/Sister's%20grave.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-buWNaKWehogPEuYdI_9lkwLAdFAFrcfSel-1comAwx2TYInb25UtGT-w-Edkns7FAFGDx3DHUyoQkA8ZgQaPlYxxAzvYhvKte909-LP4-rNLkQzdh8dspfgy4mj7nMRLpDyKOfgDbb9EePCps45QzqJv1O4ovNlsDdqtZcIGt9NfJ21Nf5FcdqFSTY/w133-h200/Sister's%20grave.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><p>Tracy Crosswhite is a police officer working in Seattle but back on her home turf of a small town in the Cascades in Washington State. It's where her sister, Sarah, disappeared 20 years ago, driving home after a shooting match on a lonely road. Tracy has never forgiven herself for allowing Sarah to drive home on her own, in a snowstorm, while she went with her fiancé. A man is in prison for the murder, despite the lack of a body. Tracy, however, feels the conviction was unsafe and convinces a childhood friend, now a lawyer, to reinvestigate with the aim of reopening the case. Of course, what she doesn't realise is that she'll also be opening a brand new can of worms. For those who like their crime books with a good dose of winter, lots of snow, mountains, back roads and so on, this is a perfct read. I enjoyed it despite the fact that there were a lot of courtroom scenes, which is not a favourite 'trope' of mine in murder mysteries. There was enough other action to keep me hooked and reading and not wanting to put the book down. I was sort of expecting the outcome, but that's fine, I'm always more interested in the journey than the destination and I loved the setting to bits. This is book one in the author's 'Tracy Crosswhite' series and I'll read more if I come across any. </p><p>Lastly, <i>The Murder of Mr. Wickham</i> by Claudia Gray.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUOnIVICX__BdtRnsKMTfX3agBO2BtlBymIrAo91oLLw_YnnKBfevA14W3US5Ti32iKNqKaQH9jhUHbHDHF5pVsW6zNjcw_6myZsGqBV4-GjgNInvMHIa9YGseVZI5dXAXHEasDo2sCw0WKNAl-fTJcAJEgqdgRUUbrqow-BIoIKUBrHPShQwfBBvh2Q/s1560/Wickham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1560" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUOnIVICX__BdtRnsKMTfX3agBO2BtlBymIrAo91oLLw_YnnKBfevA14W3US5Ti32iKNqKaQH9jhUHbHDHF5pVsW6zNjcw_6myZsGqBV4-GjgNInvMHIa9YGseVZI5dXAXHEasDo2sCw0WKNAl-fTJcAJEgqdgRUUbrqow-BIoIKUBrHPShQwfBBvh2Q/w128-h200/Wickham.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><p>Mr. Knightley and Emma (from <i>Emma</i> of course) are having a house party and invited are various heros and heroines from Jane Austen's other books. Darcy and Lizzy for instance, plus their son, Jonathan, Captain Wentworth and Anne, now married, Marriane and Col. Brandon. Halfway through dinner one night they're interrupted by a new arrival, Mr. Wickham who ran off with Lizzie's sister, Lydia, in the plot of Pride and Prejudice. Absolutely no one is pleased to see him. It seems Wickham has involved some of the people present in some financial scheme that has failed and money has been lost. When he's found battered to death in the long gallery, the list of suspects is as long as your arm. Only two people have no motive and are likely innocent, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, daughter of the Tilneys from Northanger Abbey. Naturally the two set about trying to find out who's responsible for the murder of Mr. Wickham. If you're not keen on your favourite characters from favourite classics being mucked about with then this book is likely not for you. It does involve a bit of suspension of disbelief not least because I couldn't understand why anyone would trust George Wickham enough to plough money into his schemes. Regardless, I did enjoy this romp, daft as it is, it was fun to imagine what has happened to the various married couples after the books they appeared in, finished. The author created a timeline, working out how old people would be, so some are not long married, others middle-aged with older children. Jonathan and Juliet worked well together despite the difficulties and manners of the day and I gather their adventures continue in book 2, <i>The Late Mrs.Willoughby. </i>I plan to read it. <i><br /></i></p><p> I hope you had a good reading month in July and find lots of great reads for August!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Cathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com18