Reading not Writing 2008 #4
Once again I've not been keeping up with this. Then again, I've not been reading as much this year, partly, I think, because some of what I have been reading has been generally longer, and less 'readable' as in less page turning. This has really slowed me down at times. For example I'm currently reading a book with 500 odd pages, and print so small I have to take my glasses off to read it. Even if I read for an hour or so before bed I'm still only reading thirty or forty pages at a time, so I've been reading it for a few weeks now. It's pretty good though. I'll talk more about it in due course. Now for this post's list.
21. Manly Pursuits by Ann Harries. I wrote an extended review of this over at Only 2 Rs, so I don't propose to duplicate it here. A novel set in southern Africa at the time of Cecil Rhodes was enjoyable but still had something missing for me.
22. Children of Freedom by Marc Levy. I reviewed this for Historical Novels Review. It was the story of a group of youngsters fighting for the resistance against the Nazis in WW2 France. Excellent stuff.
23. Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer. I've been reading my way through Heyer's detective fiction, which somehow I never got into before although I've been reading her Regency romances since my teens. This was better than Detection Unlimited and displayed Heyer's usual competence. Worth a look for any fan of thirties fiction.
24. Next of Kin by John Boyne. Again I wrote an extended review of this on Only 2 Rs. Suffice it to say here, I enjoyed this entertaining and erudite historical thriller immensely.
25 Tropical Tangle by Louise Gerard. A 1920s written romance set in some undefined African colony. Gerard specialised in 'exotic' romances and this ticks all the boxes. It comes across as extremely dated, but provides a wonderful snapshot of contemporary attitudes.
26. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This brief novella was a quick yet interesting read, it documents the last hours before the death of one of the characters looked at from the perspective of some time later.
27. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet. Like most people I had seen the film of this book several times, but I had never read the book before. It was worth it. Peter Lorre was well cast as the Levantine Joel Cairo and Bogey is Sam Spade. It's a while since I've seen the film, but I think on balance, the book is better.
28. The House with Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown. Again you can read a longer review over at Only 2 Rs. This is an interesting book, published in 1901, it was seen as a sideswipe at the genre of 'Kailyard Fiction', a uniquely Scottish genre, popular in the late 19th century depicting tales of couthy, cosy rural life. This novel is the antithesis of that.
29. The Map of Love by Adhaf Soueif. My sister lent me this wonderful novel. It's the story of an English woman who travels to Egypt in the early 1900s as a rest cure for depression following the death of her husband. There she meets and falls in love with an Egyptian lawyer and commits the unpardonable social solecism of marrying him. The story is told partly through her letters and those of her sister in law, and partly through her grand-daughter visiting her cousin in Cairo. This was one I couldn't put down.
30. Taste by Kate Colquhoun. While I enjoyed this history of 'British' cookery/food, it became more and more apparent as the book progressed that it was really a history of cookery/food in London. This was a shame as if Colquhoun had made the effort to research more outwith the SE of England she would have written a much broader and reliable tale of food in these islands.
21. Manly Pursuits by Ann Harries. I wrote an extended review of this over at Only 2 Rs, so I don't propose to duplicate it here. A novel set in southern Africa at the time of Cecil Rhodes was enjoyable but still had something missing for me.
22. Children of Freedom by Marc Levy. I reviewed this for Historical Novels Review. It was the story of a group of youngsters fighting for the resistance against the Nazis in WW2 France. Excellent stuff.
23. Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer. I've been reading my way through Heyer's detective fiction, which somehow I never got into before although I've been reading her Regency romances since my teens. This was better than Detection Unlimited and displayed Heyer's usual competence. Worth a look for any fan of thirties fiction.
24. Next of Kin by John Boyne. Again I wrote an extended review of this on Only 2 Rs. Suffice it to say here, I enjoyed this entertaining and erudite historical thriller immensely.
25 Tropical Tangle by Louise Gerard. A 1920s written romance set in some undefined African colony. Gerard specialised in 'exotic' romances and this ticks all the boxes. It comes across as extremely dated, but provides a wonderful snapshot of contemporary attitudes.
26. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This brief novella was a quick yet interesting read, it documents the last hours before the death of one of the characters looked at from the perspective of some time later.
27. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet. Like most people I had seen the film of this book several times, but I had never read the book before. It was worth it. Peter Lorre was well cast as the Levantine Joel Cairo and Bogey is Sam Spade. It's a while since I've seen the film, but I think on balance, the book is better.
28. The House with Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown. Again you can read a longer review over at Only 2 Rs. This is an interesting book, published in 1901, it was seen as a sideswipe at the genre of 'Kailyard Fiction', a uniquely Scottish genre, popular in the late 19th century depicting tales of couthy, cosy rural life. This novel is the antithesis of that.
29. The Map of Love by Adhaf Soueif. My sister lent me this wonderful novel. It's the story of an English woman who travels to Egypt in the early 1900s as a rest cure for depression following the death of her husband. There she meets and falls in love with an Egyptian lawyer and commits the unpardonable social solecism of marrying him. The story is told partly through her letters and those of her sister in law, and partly through her grand-daughter visiting her cousin in Cairo. This was one I couldn't put down.
30. Taste by Kate Colquhoun. While I enjoyed this history of 'British' cookery/food, it became more and more apparent as the book progressed that it was really a history of cookery/food in London. This was a shame as if Colquhoun had made the effort to research more outwith the SE of England she would have written a much broader and reliable tale of food in these islands.