Reading not Writing 2009 #4
I'm still playing catch up here. I'm quite pleased with what I've read so far this year, as there have been some pretty heavy tomes in there - books that I thought would take forever to read, or would be a struggle at every page, and haven't turned out to be. Of course there have been others that have been a struggle, but I think there's only been one that I have totally given up on. We don't get to that one yet.
31 The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. This was interesting - part of a long forgotten genre of Edwardian thriller fiction warning of the horrors of German expansionism. It seems to accept the inevitability of war with Germany twelve or thirteen years before it actually happened. A pity the war they got was so different from what they had expected. Good boy's own stuff, but it was hard to get wrapped up in the mind set of the characters. Too gung ho for my taste.
32. Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel Dennett. I've been reading quite of lot of stuff about Darwin and evolution in this bicentennial year. This was one of the ones that turned out to be a bit of a struggle. Five hundred pages of minute type accompanied with some pretty esoteric philosophical concepts, but I stuck with it, although I don't know that I will read any more Dennett. It should have been more interesting than it was - a discussion about how dangerous the idea of descent by natural selection really was. Pity.
33. The last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly. Now I enjoyed this one, despite one or two howlers ably pointed out to me by corrigan1. First in what will no doubt turn out to be a series featuring an English policeman in India in the twentiesj. Some nice twists, and I didn't get whodunnit at all. But then I never do. Sigh.
34. The Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones. I seem to be reading a lot of Spanish fiction these days for some reason. This was a marvellous historical novel set in the mid fourteenth century in Barcelona, tracking the lives of a couple of poor boys and their rise to fame and fortune. An excellent translation and a thoroughly engrossing read.
35. Castleton Caves by Trevor Ford. Strangely for someone who gets claustrophobic quite easily, I have a thing about caves. I like going on cave tours and do so when the opportunity presents. This book was excellent, describing the enormous cave system round Castleton in the Peak District. I think I get a vicarious thrill imagining the horror of slithering on your stomach feeling the cave roof pressing into your back.*shudders*. One for enthusiasts.
36. 50 Walks in the Peak District by John Morrison. Very handy for novices in the Peak District, but perhaps not one for anyone else. Well written with good maps and route descriptions, with a good mix of walk difficulty, all you can ask really.
37. The Burren and the Aran Islands by Tony Kirby. This was another book of walks, this time in Ireland. I didn't think this one was quite as good - the walks seemed to be either horribly strenuous or casual strolls - there wasn't much in between. We did part of one of them on Inis Mhor which was about four or five miles and very enjoyable, although there was a lot on tarmacked road. Good directions and nice maps.
38. 50 Walks in Edinburgh and Eastern Scotland by Rebecca Ford. From the same series as the Peak District one, and in the same format. We've only done one of the walks so far, and went quite wrong at one point, as I think the track had changed since the book was written. Nice variety of walks.
39. 25 Walks in the Scottish Borders by Peter Jackson. The last walking book, I promise! We haven't done any of these walks yet, although might get one done next weekend. Usual layout - good maps.
40. The Scottish World by Billy Kay. This was an interesting look at the Scottish diaspora over the centuries, from the Scots in the Baltic to those who went to South America and all parts in between. There's masses here I didn't know about, and it was well researched, although Kay's couthy style can grate a bit.
31 The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. This was interesting - part of a long forgotten genre of Edwardian thriller fiction warning of the horrors of German expansionism. It seems to accept the inevitability of war with Germany twelve or thirteen years before it actually happened. A pity the war they got was so different from what they had expected. Good boy's own stuff, but it was hard to get wrapped up in the mind set of the characters. Too gung ho for my taste.
32. Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel Dennett. I've been reading quite of lot of stuff about Darwin and evolution in this bicentennial year. This was one of the ones that turned out to be a bit of a struggle. Five hundred pages of minute type accompanied with some pretty esoteric philosophical concepts, but I stuck with it, although I don't know that I will read any more Dennett. It should have been more interesting than it was - a discussion about how dangerous the idea of descent by natural selection really was. Pity.
33. The last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly. Now I enjoyed this one, despite one or two howlers ably pointed out to me by corrigan1. First in what will no doubt turn out to be a series featuring an English policeman in India in the twentiesj. Some nice twists, and I didn't get whodunnit at all. But then I never do. Sigh.
34. The Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones. I seem to be reading a lot of Spanish fiction these days for some reason. This was a marvellous historical novel set in the mid fourteenth century in Barcelona, tracking the lives of a couple of poor boys and their rise to fame and fortune. An excellent translation and a thoroughly engrossing read.
35. Castleton Caves by Trevor Ford. Strangely for someone who gets claustrophobic quite easily, I have a thing about caves. I like going on cave tours and do so when the opportunity presents. This book was excellent, describing the enormous cave system round Castleton in the Peak District. I think I get a vicarious thrill imagining the horror of slithering on your stomach feeling the cave roof pressing into your back.*shudders*. One for enthusiasts.
36. 50 Walks in the Peak District by John Morrison. Very handy for novices in the Peak District, but perhaps not one for anyone else. Well written with good maps and route descriptions, with a good mix of walk difficulty, all you can ask really.
37. The Burren and the Aran Islands by Tony Kirby. This was another book of walks, this time in Ireland. I didn't think this one was quite as good - the walks seemed to be either horribly strenuous or casual strolls - there wasn't much in between. We did part of one of them on Inis Mhor which was about four or five miles and very enjoyable, although there was a lot on tarmacked road. Good directions and nice maps.
38. 50 Walks in Edinburgh and Eastern Scotland by Rebecca Ford. From the same series as the Peak District one, and in the same format. We've only done one of the walks so far, and went quite wrong at one point, as I think the track had changed since the book was written. Nice variety of walks.
39. 25 Walks in the Scottish Borders by Peter Jackson. The last walking book, I promise! We haven't done any of these walks yet, although might get one done next weekend. Usual layout - good maps.
40. The Scottish World by Billy Kay. This was an interesting look at the Scottish diaspora over the centuries, from the Scots in the Baltic to those who went to South America and all parts in between. There's masses here I didn't know about, and it was well researched, although Kay's couthy style can grate a bit.