tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882699166241553522024-03-16T01:09:55.097+00:00The BookhoundFor those who love reading (with the occasional digression)Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.comBlogger875125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-70082594520460550472023-11-18T08:55:00.037+00:002024-03-14T19:32:27.917+00:002024 52 Book Challenge<p>1)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Locked-room mystery</p><p>Mortal Mischief / Frank Tallis</p><p>Clever mystery, the first in the Vienna Blood series. Author doesn't always play entirely fair with the reader, but that can be forgiven for the beautiful background of early 20th century Vienna (I wanted to visit again), well-drawn characters, and engrossing plot. Recommended.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcW754AZcs8J5mjz0Ww5lRzidFIC4eSTHD-0tWXw25IIbc-m9_RNbdImkCHSAcZjAAw9xB4gogqfV4d6PcN7nIsABQHuHefl7oq-UmWnepthOZ_ONxTx14qASBjNdO-Ch5OEoVPeROjsD7ZXgTfapKLWAJTe2dK3irJ8nCLzr3wv38df-zVIgZh9dH4m/s278/download%20(10).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcW754AZcs8J5mjz0Ww5lRzidFIC4eSTHD-0tWXw25IIbc-m9_RNbdImkCHSAcZjAAw9xB4gogqfV4d6PcN7nIsABQHuHefl7oq-UmWnepthOZ_ONxTx14qASBjNdO-Ch5OEoVPeROjsD7ZXgTfapKLWAJTe2dK3irJ8nCLzr3wv38df-zVIgZh9dH4m/s1600/download%20(10).jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>2)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bibliosmia: A smelly book</p><p>A month in the country / J.L Carr</p><p>One of my favourite books, and a little jewel of a novel. My edition is not that old, only published in 2000, but my second hand copy has a distinctive old books smell. Reading it again is like being in the company of an old friend.</p><p>I love the writing of J.L. Carr. Often very funny, it's also elegantly beautiful. Have now read this several times and each time I take something new away with me. Beautiful.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Q-25oRzeJujuhJbiHMEdrCFNsoR58eP2FYvpAETCMoySheds06kU3iqdRnIPVG6wiAyfOG5s9ViNGb82Put2UvX1GvFfebEXFLaROiJlc6Ep3F0i5-XphTdXydKf2nTy0me3Sm30B6v7qhvbj0yc1vi5CpOPE4F_DxlQCgWI9PSG5gHKpJvuRGM49BJK/s2063/20240226_125813.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2063" data-original-width="1346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Q-25oRzeJujuhJbiHMEdrCFNsoR58eP2FYvpAETCMoySheds06kU3iqdRnIPVG6wiAyfOG5s9ViNGb82Put2UvX1GvFfebEXFLaROiJlc6Ep3F0i5-XphTdXydKf2nTy0me3Sm30B6v7qhvbj0yc1vi5CpOPE4F_DxlQCgWI9PSG5gHKpJvuRGM49BJK/s320/20240226_125813.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><p>3)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>More than 40 chapters</p><p>Portraits and Observations / Truman Capote. A selection (41!) of Capote's non-fiction writing. Spanning his career they are variable. Some excellent reads, some much less so. Worth reading though for the wonderful The muses are heard about the 1955 Porgy and Bess tour to the USSR. Enchanting.</p><p>4)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lowercase letters on the spine</p><p>Scruffy / Paul Gallico</p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Dated but utterly charming wartime romance (with lots of monkeys!). Gallico at his best.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQxnR7bwo6epcccTPeXBLuxpP8MK_nUyDJknq7FKYzzlK7johx4Su0RYQLFiA_JWl7dSK5vnmS9WB21vY3VejYQR5aPCAmgnrc7IMxZMb3-1DK_U6YvZc6Wm8wg1D3f0BESgqi80kRASFzyonzUv7AGcB6fk1q4HjUN2XyVCbutYX9M2ZVk503W4gh_DT/s960/431514321_7842725159090938_5264908745527090723_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="157" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQxnR7bwo6epcccTPeXBLuxpP8MK_nUyDJknq7FKYzzlK7johx4Su0RYQLFiA_JWl7dSK5vnmS9WB21vY3VejYQR5aPCAmgnrc7IMxZMb3-1DK_U6YvZc6Wm8wg1D3f0BESgqi80kRASFzyonzUv7AGcB6fk1q4HjUN2XyVCbutYX9M2ZVk503W4gh_DT/s320/431514321_7842725159090938_5264908745527090723_n.jpg" width="52" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRuBJSpRhb6c0aWO8_eZdP2zMtk658uGrH3estGaVAtPC86R0IjDFnROJiAXp6FQonQbApCBgsRCAnuNTNxIfccS80xjn5jfu54eRk0XQYhNn4yvgpEQcu1u-jNqcfDmc6HFKelEVTT3HGRBGuDtV7yT2Z12v0YDLaoYlNw8ry19qDJgiyYGKiLbW83sh/s945/431212156_7842725762424211_5744964835510070909_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRuBJSpRhb6c0aWO8_eZdP2zMtk658uGrH3estGaVAtPC86R0IjDFnROJiAXp6FQonQbApCBgsRCAnuNTNxIfccS80xjn5jfu54eRk0XQYhNn4yvgpEQcu1u-jNqcfDmc6HFKelEVTT3HGRBGuDtV7yT2Z12v0YDLaoYlNw8ry19qDJgiyYGKiLbW83sh/s320/431212156_7842725762424211_5744964835510070909_n.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYRcea1UO2wD9rjxH_CthFRBfrYkQTM941OvhvyGabC7O2DvosUF2oFu1rz_8phSQ-og7C1Wy6dpH1MlQZWckBvEHUMfkZTl883z6FerQKdC8oLJamFmE4iswjdjJ0igOULtkEh6S7zPv85zw9L4yXPtH1JT2mNVnZOLdEePPGdwExfyoOzklTlogaDms/s928/431183010_7842725629090891_2318381850895316544_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYRcea1UO2wD9rjxH_CthFRBfrYkQTM941OvhvyGabC7O2DvosUF2oFu1rz_8phSQ-og7C1Wy6dpH1MlQZWckBvEHUMfkZTl883z6FerQKdC8oLJamFmE4iswjdjJ0igOULtkEh6S7zPv85zw9L4yXPtH1JT2mNVnZOLdEePPGdwExfyoOzklTlogaDms/s320/431183010_7842725629090891_2318381850895316544_n.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">5)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">Magical Realism</span></div></div><p>6)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Women in STEM</p><p>Written in Bone / Sue Black.</p><p>Fascinating if occasionally gruesome book by renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black.</p><p>7)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At least four different POV</p><p>8)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Features the ocean</p><p>9)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A character-driven novel</p><p>A terrible kindness / Jo Browning Wroe.</p><p>I had very mixed feelings about this novel. It opens with the Aberfan disaster and then moves backwards in time to the protagonist's time as a chorister at Cambridge and then forward again as he struggles to come to terms with various life events, including his time as an embalmer at Aberfan.</p><p>I grew up not far from Aberfan, while much of the latter part of my life has been spent in and around Cambridge, and I have a background in church music. All of which feature heavily in the novel. This almost certainly contributed to my problems with the novel.</p><p>There are some moments of beautiful writing, and although some of the coincidences are rather obvious there is a strong narrative flow. The opening chapters in Aberfan are undeniably powerful. However, I'm not convinced that the novel needed to be set in Aberfan. Part of me admired her writing in these sections, but part felt very uncomfortable that such a tragedy was being used as a vehicle when an imagined tragedy would work as well. It felt like imposing on someone else's grief.</p><p>There were a few grating musical errors, and frequent 21st century sensibilities grafted onto the 1950s and '60s, which made for some odd reading. (Did 1950s 10 year old schoolboys really have intense discussions about relatives' sexuality?)</p><p>I really wanted to enjoy this. And I did want to find out what happened to the characters, but somehow for me, it all fell a bit short, with some of the scenes very uncomfortable. At times powerful, but not one I would want to read again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2UkuzXdyJ7pzdNoMWWVi3KEGn00Rzzhik7qbY_Q8sn_CLjtkDJ0D_0lrgjAzpQb9oC1f__T0RRKIJFRVKXyOALSoj7CaJdYEMI6_inEmdBaH5BdPf4YWgQw1vHS3aOb_j5sbvMDXY5wEVs2a9GIOk5ea6-wsnMcCIBxwQ5FvngP7wjENfLSGUFeLTSXi/s2618/20240116_213252.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2618" data-original-width="1505" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2UkuzXdyJ7pzdNoMWWVi3KEGn00Rzzhik7qbY_Q8sn_CLjtkDJ0D_0lrgjAzpQb9oC1f__T0RRKIJFRVKXyOALSoj7CaJdYEMI6_inEmdBaH5BdPf4YWgQw1vHS3aOb_j5sbvMDXY5wEVs2a9GIOk5ea6-wsnMcCIBxwQ5FvngP7wjENfLSGUFeLTSXi/s320/20240116_213252.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><p>10)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Told in non-chronological order</p><p>11)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Title starting with the letter “K”</p><p>12)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Title starting with the letter “L”</p><p>The lie tree / Frances Hardinge </p><p>Clever YA / Fantasy / Historic crime novel. Not convinced that the fantasy segment truly works as is principally an easy way of amassing evidence (something that is easier to get away with in a YA novel than an adult one). Nevertheless it's an interesting read with beautiful writing, some good characterisation and a definite sense of time and place.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q6SnGLQJbp_zgf0r1ys0SG41A_5solvdkbY3tgZ4UGn0NG8hngPqAibudlB3yxFiZ09ZF1QYDCKTXZB_ddJmhZebJ7LRzpgne9QM7vszo9quSQ2nhyphenhyphenPlSYCztwA7BtFzfhDmK-RRVzOwmb5yKn7Isp6PQNcH2P9Ya_QEN1gmI8RJ7lSq0zZ_e4hcQAw6/s3840/20240211_130405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q6SnGLQJbp_zgf0r1ys0SG41A_5solvdkbY3tgZ4UGn0NG8hngPqAibudlB3yxFiZ09ZF1QYDCKTXZB_ddJmhZebJ7LRzpgne9QM7vszo9quSQ2nhyphenhyphenPlSYCztwA7BtFzfhDmK-RRVzOwmb5yKn7Isp6PQNcH2P9Ya_QEN1gmI8RJ7lSq0zZ_e4hcQAw6/s320/20240211_130405.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p>13)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An academic thriller</p><p>14)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A grieving character</p><p>Dominion / C.J. Sansom. Excellent thriller set in an alternative Britain in which the UK has signed a peace treaty with the Nazis following Dunkirk. It is 1952, there is a new monarch, and resistance is on the rise. </p><p>Features a number of grieving characters most notably the central characters of David, Sarah and Natalia.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9TFCPD57HqooBfSJ5OfDagMqryoJ-JBCGqYTJHK3VWdBHuTfitzBxVtyRGaoixKIvHW5RED4ytsPTeA0kLoHCJgf-QesZuEln8OVXkizdayb9IPiwN7LsIueWPTiD5635gML41vacx6_vDuARH1CXTAMRmB33FBBXMoafma4rP7f-eBtaLL1Ud6DvnQY/s2183/20240112_231746.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2183" data-original-width="1726" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9TFCPD57HqooBfSJ5OfDagMqryoJ-JBCGqYTJHK3VWdBHuTfitzBxVtyRGaoixKIvHW5RED4ytsPTeA0kLoHCJgf-QesZuEln8OVXkizdayb9IPiwN7LsIueWPTiD5635gML41vacx6_vDuARH1CXTAMRmB33FBBXMoafma4rP7f-eBtaLL1Ud6DvnQY/s320/20240112_231746.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><p>15)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Part of a duology</p><p>16)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An omniscient narrator</p><p>Demons / Dostoevsky </p><p>There is some argument as to whether the narrative voice in Demons (also published as The Possessed or Devils) can be described as omniscient, but in this translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the omniscient voice triumphs with the narrator knowing far more than he apparently should.</p><p>17)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nominated for The Booker Prize</p><p>18)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An apostrophe in the title</p><p>We couldn't leave Dinah by Mary Treadgold.</p><p>I first read this when I was about 10, and was delighted to come across it again while staying with a friend. Indeed the book itself was like coming across an old and much loved friend after far too many years apart. </p><p>Winner of the Carnegie medal in 1941, Mary Treadgold wrote the novel while in an air raid shelter during the Blitz. </p><p>The novel tells the story of two pony mad children, who are accidentally left behind on one of the Channel Islands as the Nazis invade. Desperate to get home, they are unexpectedly thrown into espionage. </p><p>It's a great adventure story, but it's also surprisingly moving as the children struggle to work out who is friend and who foe; and discover that even enemies can unexpectedly become friends. I adored it every bit as much as I did as a child, but also found an added depth to it which I had not expected. Wonderful book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bRBuT1yYniG846qpZzd80UP_G9yXmkucyTRBZWNwb4k2FjQoGTdHLP-M3lKEsHiY4cTo1XDRPwmaN4ZRLmGjKdOVBFPoG0BbC6GJclVLdvbDROvY3C4tirT1wUVsrmtVRZ0PcwWxvyWAXuDfxGhUZrbOySYJB_6ouJMkVo08Mt7BUsyblXFASdAafU2n/s1000/91pYag+t4OL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bRBuT1yYniG846qpZzd80UP_G9yXmkucyTRBZWNwb4k2FjQoGTdHLP-M3lKEsHiY4cTo1XDRPwmaN4ZRLmGjKdOVBFPoG0BbC6GJclVLdvbDROvY3C4tirT1wUVsrmtVRZ0PcwWxvyWAXuDfxGhUZrbOySYJB_6ouJMkVo08Mt7BUsyblXFASdAafU2n/s320/91pYag+t4OL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><p>19)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A buddy read</p><p>20)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A revenge story</p><p>House of cards by Michael Dobbs.</p><p>Gloriously cynical, blackly comic political thriller. When a Chief Whip fails to get a deserved promotion an intricate revenge story will play out.</p><p>Not just a revenge story either, this was also a revenge write for the author whose political career was ruined after a mauling by Margaret Thatcher. Revenge must have been sweet (though I am sure that Michael Dobbs like Francis Urquhart couldn't possibly comment)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIMZ9bFuZWrrBL2k_HHIUX-UR8QiklzChtoaVfxt1vp2i7caDAkKqytosiHFhpgwg0VgY5xN-Gpm08EUXNYg20sxxTQKydAYyw2o0ZAD-leP5Lp6LfzSNSJQsyqsnNbt-Mf8FHmsdiXhO5YguEhKoCPrmMk5z1kWPuEN9haNOtEmy4AhswcAB54wEHkZc/s278/download%20(4).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIMZ9bFuZWrrBL2k_HHIUX-UR8QiklzChtoaVfxt1vp2i7caDAkKqytosiHFhpgwg0VgY5xN-Gpm08EUXNYg20sxxTQKydAYyw2o0ZAD-leP5Lp6LfzSNSJQsyqsnNbt-Mf8FHmsdiXhO5YguEhKoCPrmMk5z1kWPuEN9haNOtEmy4AhswcAB54wEHkZc/s1600/download%20(4).jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>21)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Written by a ghostwriter</p><p>22)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A plot similar to another book</p><p>23)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The other book with the similar plot</p><p>24)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A cover without people on it</p><p>The winners / Fredrik Backman</p><p>Final book in the Beartown trilogy. Loved Beartown and have enjoyed reading the rest of the trilogy and rounding off the story. Haven't found the sequels as good as the original, but glad that I read them as a group.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwypIDDpSfaOdWlSb7Mzh_ixI4NO3jL9pJLtqAxwLSNN-uGfiIBe3S8VXezsdLQaXzS4S6hxPkAo5uY6I5vkc7CTQpGjs5KFKZWt7V3qoNslp3Q1jmE4UaDRA3jWOzergRHWD-jcAGr-Ki5RmVOuJhedVr9zeLFqVjVdCXGAwpkUUmZOtDcUMVwLsghSC/s277/download%20(16).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwypIDDpSfaOdWlSb7Mzh_ixI4NO3jL9pJLtqAxwLSNN-uGfiIBe3S8VXezsdLQaXzS4S6hxPkAo5uY6I5vkc7CTQpGjs5KFKZWt7V3qoNslp3Q1jmE4UaDRA3jWOzergRHWD-jcAGr-Ki5RmVOuJhedVr9zeLFqVjVdCXGAwpkUUmZOtDcUMVwLsghSC/s1600/download%20(16).jpeg" width="182" /></a></div><p>25)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An author “everyone” has read except you</p><p>Bear town / Fredrik Backman</p><p>The fortunes of a hockey club are the centre of life for a small remote community.</p><p>Wonderful book. Starts off like a standard Nordic noir, then turns into a story about community. Alongside this there are much deeper and darker themes about how what unites community can also divide it, rape culture and toxic masculinity, bias, justice and law. It is an astonishing book that treads lightly but thoughtfully. Great writing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQFYnoOzf-7IGdQXf5ozsVipUDy0DxZMYlAu20r6i7d9B2Ff9w0g_EymNFkjG0vUgr-C0EYg9Hgs9K5yHN-yXWy22nqww2lfdCnXvx5K17IvN4E6GhMwj43v7b5kU13BKe122D-u5N9LbMT6H6Ip4zRx5j2tOUHAptCiIyPjk9o1_lIEDHErrevBwcRIi/s278/download%20(14).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQFYnoOzf-7IGdQXf5ozsVipUDy0DxZMYlAu20r6i7d9B2Ff9w0g_EymNFkjG0vUgr-C0EYg9Hgs9K5yHN-yXWy22nqww2lfdCnXvx5K17IvN4E6GhMwj43v7b5kU13BKe122D-u5N9LbMT6H6Ip4zRx5j2tOUHAptCiIyPjk9o1_lIEDHErrevBwcRIi/s1600/download%20(14).jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>26)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hybrid genre</p><p>The name of the rose / Umberto Eco</p><p>Historical novel / murder mystery.</p><p>First read this shortly after it was translated. Enjoyed it but didn't understand the hype. This time around I adored it. Such an insight into medieval life and thought especially for those who love and work with books. Also thoroughly enjoyed listening to C13th music while reading.</p><p>Have also included this in the Read it / Watch it challenge. Have seen the TV series - beautiful photography, good acting, but a very different beast from the book. Re-watching the film next.</p><p>27)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By a neurodivergent author</p><p>Wishful drinking / Carrie Fisher.</p><p>Incredibly funny, often outrageously shocking, Wishful drinking is actress, Carrie Fisher's memoire of life, celebrity and her battles with addiction and bi-polar disorder. </p><p>I found this prompt a tricky one and was delighted to suddenly remember this. Am sorry that Carrie died far too soon, she was a wonderfully hilarious story teller.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwC9QgAHZE9dyRhJ0xx12-k7H3XyWOEQsI1uG0ARGhDnPxLDxtqsaPsYhDJeRpFbaskwTGFNoUkZCPsuVjKcXWjlZkLHSJhUkCB5OPGxlgPbUEmK3Oj4O95gayvlnitqfH7W_89otukk1Ti6dvUCFLn8TWeX2ALb930bZvlA8mH_h-fFygPaIrT9Mw3XOH/s283/download%20(13).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="178" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwC9QgAHZE9dyRhJ0xx12-k7H3XyWOEQsI1uG0ARGhDnPxLDxtqsaPsYhDJeRpFbaskwTGFNoUkZCPsuVjKcXWjlZkLHSJhUkCB5OPGxlgPbUEmK3Oj4O95gayvlnitqfH7W_89otukk1Ti6dvUCFLn8TWeX2ALb930bZvlA8mH_h-fFygPaIrT9Mw3XOH/s1600/download%20(13).jpeg" width="178" /></a></div><p>28)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A yellow spine</p><p>29)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Published in a Year of the Dragon</p><p>30)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Picked without reading the blurb</p><p>Hiding the elephant / Jim Steinmeyer</p><p>I came across this accidentally online when I saw and loved the front cover. It's not the sort of book I would normally read, but I loved Jim Steinmeyer's fascinating history of optical magic, from its roots in the mid 19th century through to the 1920s.</p><p>It features a big cast of characters through the greatest illusionists of the day, escape artists, con artists, and some of the most elegant magicians ever to grace the stage. There's also a cast of disappearing donkeys, an invisible elephant and a craze for sawing women in half (thankfully no-one was harmed in this process, though ambulances were on stand by). </p><p>It's quite frequently funny, sometimes astonishing, and occasionally unexpectedly touching. A really interesting look into an unknown world by a master of illusion.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_SREJOKRE-USXea5W-axNNg50r1IwuczH6hEq-o6jd_72Wbh2uYuXWTauvV2U8G-F9NBFGpwlcFppI9_CNcbY3pqUCMP1TEQ2NiwSRlMCrqeIdBJrbzvV3OXdoirR4WO0iJ30ETuAF2Hg_ksm_IWyjLp8bMv6UYk-aqUfbc-YriFW2lIqlo-rSKdRKWd/s2518/20240228_105021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2518" data-original-width="1653" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_SREJOKRE-USXea5W-axNNg50r1IwuczH6hEq-o6jd_72Wbh2uYuXWTauvV2U8G-F9NBFGpwlcFppI9_CNcbY3pqUCMP1TEQ2NiwSRlMCrqeIdBJrbzvV3OXdoirR4WO0iJ30ETuAF2Hg_ksm_IWyjLp8bMv6UYk-aqUfbc-YriFW2lIqlo-rSKdRKWd/s320/20240228_105021.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><p>31)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Includes a personal phobia</p><p>32)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Timeframe spans a week or less</p><p>Candleshoe (originally published as Christmas at Candleshoe) by Michael Innes.</p><p>Enchanting story spanning roughly 24 hours. For those thinking of using it as the Holiday prompt though, beware. It has nothing to do with the Christmas season whatsoever.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6iGxKJv9TMVWyQ1k_zTrV_bwdP3oSYIRSmSikf6qYz_zSmS6dIIa1y7LAjbsHvvSqChUijzwq3qINwA4ki-Nmy0wX-TgcXMv8HgLOHoAWm8GCib84BFWmdig9TV1AQNccFMo2z1KZ_W-R7htkmiS_uRBalBMYiKOQI_ddYtyHTdMWW3I0-lJMXQ6cp0e/s2648/20240107_200335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2648" data-original-width="1690" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6iGxKJv9TMVWyQ1k_zTrV_bwdP3oSYIRSmSikf6qYz_zSmS6dIIa1y7LAjbsHvvSqChUijzwq3qINwA4ki-Nmy0wX-TgcXMv8HgLOHoAWm8GCib84BFWmdig9TV1AQNccFMo2z1KZ_W-R7htkmiS_uRBalBMYiKOQI_ddYtyHTdMWW3I0-lJMXQ6cp0e/s320/20240107_200335.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><p>33)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An abrupt ending</p><p>34)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set in a landlocked country</p><p>The Salzburg Connection / Helen MacInnes.</p><p>Principally set in Austria and Switzerland.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieb8ekvoYqJmqbfR1BG0juxEbxGBR37zmYGkLvhMosxLSWhZ1CUWX-i-ev74PBv8BG2dW9eoEyGJlg8N88CRN1X-uLp8ho7UDKixvvewucK4uJyVtF4zmMjGFrK9KGgIh9iEDcf0Yj03vbiyKg90bx5Ld4eEsZXKC6VkIMl1U_m_iHMQ_ziXJTeSGmHdKw/s2086/-jnow0g.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1773" data-original-width="2086" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieb8ekvoYqJmqbfR1BG0juxEbxGBR37zmYGkLvhMosxLSWhZ1CUWX-i-ev74PBv8BG2dW9eoEyGJlg8N88CRN1X-uLp8ho7UDKixvvewucK4uJyVtF4zmMjGFrK9KGgIh9iEDcf0Yj03vbiyKg90bx5Ld4eEsZXKC6VkIMl1U_m_iHMQ_ziXJTeSGmHdKw/s320/-jnow0g.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">35)</span><span style="text-align: left; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Title matches lyrics from a song</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Running wild / J.G. Ballard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chilling novella. Well written, sometimes blackly comic, it's also distinctly unpleasant. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Originally chose it for the Wild prompt, but then realised that it would fill the tricky lyrics from a song prompt. For anyone who doesn't know the song, you can hear Marilyn Monroe sing it in Some like it hot (which is a lot more fun than this book)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OCXtEuNGOS0" width="320" youtube-src-id="OCXtEuNGOS0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">36)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Has futuristic technology</div></span></div><p>This is how you lose the time war / Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone</p><p>Often wondered what the heck was going on, but I really enjoyed this. Beautiful writing, and the love of the central characters was both powerful and endearing. A salutary lesson in a world at war that opponents often have more in common than they believe if only they would look.</p><p>Also contains the most graceful acknowledgements of any novel. </p><p>Unexpectedly enchanting. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-flrlhFas4b20oXfEaugyTtTk0idTHVAAt8H6Ee2C3pM6e-fDOltSNEaQMBtOXyuynTz9ScE-7xb_0R5Uu1A5PN81fQHSEn7PsbXrq5mmMLhIgfpSBeNSY6Io9qC2oD4zRKVKQMhyPs2QVVDZL9cvJnKY_fytahXb2cAnXFTbb6ZVwVTZsEZaAHHS5OZ7/s640/9781529405231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-flrlhFas4b20oXfEaugyTtTk0idTHVAAt8H6Ee2C3pM6e-fDOltSNEaQMBtOXyuynTz9ScE-7xb_0R5Uu1A5PN81fQHSEn7PsbXrq5mmMLhIgfpSBeNSY6Io9qC2oD4zRKVKQMhyPs2QVVDZL9cvJnKY_fytahXb2cAnXFTbb6ZVwVTZsEZaAHHS5OZ7/s320/9781529405231.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p>37)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Palindrome on the cover</p><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Eight detectives / Alex Pavesi.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Thank goodness for Sophie Hannah's review on the cover which gave me a palindrome. </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Clever but ultimately slightly disappointing novel, despite the hype.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjwsIyoKqnvI_YYo50UBoYuFHe7i3CZE0KyYs1069W3SsobNJW0Je-6FespWCKKBE3FtwfN5E8LCBnm6QLSzjiAmek3m4Z72XolzGiabPGIkQEtI48lh6wMBCSOqO1xRiJM0n4OzDprjLwpcVJrhs2jZIfmz0HhwgeS_ERMFx5tDkFpJ8_VLDBhl1NbUt/s247/431465568_7838067056223415_9163368952906123306_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="155" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjwsIyoKqnvI_YYo50UBoYuFHe7i3CZE0KyYs1069W3SsobNJW0Je-6FespWCKKBE3FtwfN5E8LCBnm6QLSzjiAmek3m4Z72XolzGiabPGIkQEtI48lh6wMBCSOqO1xRiJM0n4OzDprjLwpcVJrhs2jZIfmz0HhwgeS_ERMFx5tDkFpJ8_VLDBhl1NbUt/s1600/431465568_7838067056223415_9163368952906123306_n.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">38)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">Published by Hachette</span></div></div><p>Still life / Louise Penny</p><p>This is the first of Penny's Inspector Gamache mysteries that I've read. I loved the community of Three Pines and Gamache that she created. As Whodunnits go, the murderer was easy to spot (or at least I thought so), but with this kind of crime novel that really isn't the point, it's more about finding a new fictional friend, that you know is going to be keeping you company for some time. A great comfort read.</p><p>39)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Non-fiction recommended by a friend</p><p>The Wager / David Grann</p><p>It's only January, but I think I've just read one of my books of the year. Compulsively readable account of a naval disaster. A real-life adventure story beautifully told. Highly recommended.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEbVW7lyiuRveawWLPnpMY9ypL1MQfUMZiCfuC5c12JV4IW3XaVXX4FPSAafLWxW7r4Q5WR5Ic5stfn5mGOPSJV6_7KUMeBH3XgZK5BCeDZhXVWb9l9bvFSNbZJMBfqhm85pSI3Q76dsNYYyDfkGWMIHtj7cVSw2PTpZjl_-cOUpBlQFVzvCaFwf89uO2/s277/download%20(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEbVW7lyiuRveawWLPnpMY9ypL1MQfUMZiCfuC5c12JV4IW3XaVXX4FPSAafLWxW7r4Q5WR5Ic5stfn5mGOPSJV6_7KUMeBH3XgZK5BCeDZhXVWb9l9bvFSNbZJMBfqhm85pSI3Q76dsNYYyDfkGWMIHtj7cVSw2PTpZjl_-cOUpBlQFVzvCaFwf89uO2/s1600/download%20(2).jpeg" width="182" /></a></div><p>40)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set during a holiday you don’t celebrate</p><p>41)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A sticker on the cover</p><p>The locked room / Elly Griffiths </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPirHZ3O0xFF46Yb-arc7ep5rUFdQSs3Pb7A5V0pg1fPc6kvGRRpPjAK4E-xqJgwTfM6_veFLthgM3W9W62YBfjfOlrRWzCO74oCQSgdvwOopZ3Z7JhRSyCjh_XBhgstzCk1w5cqPogN9qOQa6aTqBDuayKTLJJJKPfURPqwIxw7Fld9gwVvXcIxUlr2MW/s2642/20240104_161155.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2642" data-original-width="1585" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPirHZ3O0xFF46Yb-arc7ep5rUFdQSs3Pb7A5V0pg1fPc6kvGRRpPjAK4E-xqJgwTfM6_veFLthgM3W9W62YBfjfOlrRWzCO74oCQSgdvwOopZ3Z7JhRSyCjh_XBhgstzCk1w5cqPogN9qOQa6aTqBDuayKTLJJJKPfURPqwIxw7Fld9gwVvXcIxUlr2MW/s320/20240104_161155.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p>42)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Author debut in second half of 2024</p><p>43)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>About finding identity</p><p>Wandering stars / Sholem Aleichem</p><p>Utterly charming, heartwarming tale of life in a Yiddish theatre troop in the early C20th. Two youngsters discover their path in life after joinng the company. Partly based on real people and places, and very funny, this is my latest comfort read.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wG-NDCWrcGUQtTqj88Z6gohId1xbO9nsqFlq-x7nQJzR1OX49wJRSUXlUNbrvkmY3wlWgCkBWgtWSFAijhAuEY7JYn8MJmAnePseVxv7E8al97KlJh9PuVwzyVI3ip4fv-E3ZM2YKHMp-jHs2u9NZsNky_jlA1Ev8BxBgfJvKy0CPY9EhzLO2xB0UIFO/s278/download%20(8).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wG-NDCWrcGUQtTqj88Z6gohId1xbO9nsqFlq-x7nQJzR1OX49wJRSUXlUNbrvkmY3wlWgCkBWgtWSFAijhAuEY7JYn8MJmAnePseVxv7E8al97KlJh9PuVwzyVI3ip4fv-E3ZM2YKHMp-jHs2u9NZsNky_jlA1Ev8BxBgfJvKy0CPY9EhzLO2xB0UIFO/s1600/download%20(8).jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>44)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Includes a wedding</p><p>45)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chapter headings have dates</p><p>Death comes as the end / Agatha Christie.</p><p>I was originally going to use this along with Sleeping Murder for the similar books prompt. Both have long been favourites, but I am particularly fond of Death comes as the end - a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt. Agatha was married to an archaeologist and was very knowledgeable about ancient history.</p><p>Both Sleeping Murder and Death comes as the end were written during the Second World War, though Sleeping Murder, the last Miss Marple, was only published posthumously. Both Sleeping Murder and Curtain : Poirot's last case were locked away in Christie's publisher's safe, only to be published in the event of her death. They would remain there for 30 years.</p><p>You can tell however when reading Death comes as the end that they were written around the same period. There is a distinct resemblance between the villain, the innocence of the heroine, and even some tiny details of the surroundings.</p><p>In the end however I moved away from the similar books prompts (prompts 22-23) when I discovered that I had completely forgotten the dated chapter headings in Death comes as the end. OK they are a little vague - Second month of inundation, 20th day - but near enough to know that would be roughly September 15th. This feels like a more tricky prompt to fill, so have moved this rather unChristie Christie to here.</p><p>Here's my beloved suitably ancient copy with the beautiful Tom Adams cover.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIgjwbpeHHZOlJ7lpgduDiQCoP-_0SQpsf6G8MCi8-m79-wkjnbnWSx_Ko9gpt0zGqXNZgH4TtWQnx1qDTKpHwJth82gDVuGCIrUu7VPAZvTKKjZXaC0Wyledt3xoGUutNF-mP8VslnESFFWg6FYYnLKgiTAm-G5GUsNVUJdwrI9piGhVL8XJdrjxgdFj/s2584/20240124_144032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2584" data-original-width="1550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIgjwbpeHHZOlJ7lpgduDiQCoP-_0SQpsf6G8MCi8-m79-wkjnbnWSx_Ko9gpt0zGqXNZgH4TtWQnx1qDTKpHwJth82gDVuGCIrUu7VPAZvTKKjZXaC0Wyledt3xoGUutNF-mP8VslnESFFWg6FYYnLKgiTAm-G5GUsNVUJdwrI9piGhVL8XJdrjxgdFj/s320/20240124_144032.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p>46)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Featuring Indigenous culture</p><p>47)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Self-insert by an author</p><p>A line to kill by Anthony Horowitz.</p><p>Generally entertaining murder mystery as author Anthony Horowitz and former detective Hawthorne investigate a series of deaths at a literary festival. </p><p>The ending is a little disappointing with a very awkward abrupt cliffhanger presumably into the next book in the series. Unfortunate as the rest of the book was so enjoyable.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC4uxny3a8UiuY-Anxk2qn13tGOOWCBt8klHw-I0K_z8sEHzHx1lJSwkl9pJUY5fzSQKwcb-K-gJLerlpayQZnSKd_XLm4cSH0Kl7_MhrqfeX01F2mvmnG4pwjNkmM3WWotDU50jGw2V_p9WHx_oX1060M9EUqWRwmyDBtfoTs2RM4ohHbFVAwJK5Rh0a/s2582/20240223_160909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2582" data-original-width="1633" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC4uxny3a8UiuY-Anxk2qn13tGOOWCBt8klHw-I0K_z8sEHzHx1lJSwkl9pJUY5fzSQKwcb-K-gJLerlpayQZnSKd_XLm4cSH0Kl7_MhrqfeX01F2mvmnG4pwjNkmM3WWotDU50jGw2V_p9WHx_oX1060M9EUqWRwmyDBtfoTs2RM4ohHbFVAwJK5Rh0a/s320/20240223_160909.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><p>48)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The word “secret” in the title</p><p>49)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set in a city starting with the letter “M”</p><p>Gorky Park / Martin Cruz Smith</p><p>Principally set in Moscow, Gorky Park is a thoroughly enjoyable and well written murder mystery / thriller. Loved the lead character of Arkady Renko.</p><p>50)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A musical instrument on the cover</p><p>51)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Related to the word “Wild”</p><p>52)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Published in 2024</p><p><br /></p>Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-2412321804299700462022-12-27T21:49:00.067+00:002024-02-12T21:48:43.054+00:002023 52 Book challenge - COMPLETED <h2 style="text-align: center;">Challenges for 2023 set out below. Will be added to throughout the year.</h2><p>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with a subtitle</p><p>Seven ages of death : A forensic pathologist's journey through life / Dr. Richard Shepherd.</p><p>Fascinating, occasionally gruesome, often surprisingly beautiful account of the work of a UK pathologist, and the wonderful thing that is the human body.</p><p>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Featuring an inheritance</p><p>Sad Cypress / Agatha Christie</p><p>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Title starting with the letter “G”</p><p>The great darkness by Jim Kelly. Excellent historical crime novel especially for those familiar with the city of Cambridge.</p><p>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Title starting with the letter “H”</p><p>How to kill your family / Bella Mackie.</p><p>Darkly funny, Bella Mackie was inspired to write her debut novel by her father telling her true crime stories when she was a small child (perhaps I'm heading down the same path as my grandfather did the same). </p><p>If you've enjoyed Killing Eve, you'll love this, even if I did find it slightly repulsive. Great twist in the tale though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEozpZaTMh0vgvaf6QypehDbenDlRonhphk-oB5_iDP_5Xscllu7ZKJM-rBkYrPOuQ-LhlrRxlJyEEoHfwoeIXXldhuqVI7M2oHYgtaAbZukbk8RJiqZGXNFl2xMUOxNzrEDvjsoPKzyTMTsa2r3nvIbOUcomEGnR8meYfBc7ECJrZwx7EK-1nHDGT9g/s2704/20230509_215233.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2704" data-original-width="1684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEozpZaTMh0vgvaf6QypehDbenDlRonhphk-oB5_iDP_5Xscllu7ZKJM-rBkYrPOuQ-LhlrRxlJyEEoHfwoeIXXldhuqVI7M2oHYgtaAbZukbk8RJiqZGXNFl2xMUOxNzrEDvjsoPKzyTMTsa2r3nvIbOUcomEGnR8meYfBc7ECJrZwx7EK-1nHDGT9g/s320/20230509_215233.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><p>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Title starting with the letter “I”</p><p>I, Claudius / Robert Graves.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9w46pEWxr_6tueGgr0rh_DSYMh2_cjj2eSKYgSVVFrDhM7R5jigReoiCUneDC5vK4iwpe0718zri7qpmkSfvkTm6-9iSG2RjZlrsmhs4M3kmkbsoJ1NF9EfjJMMJfSiGLDuUFGaFGhAPbUhm2xIoLY0xrOcsH_xA4nkuWLSpGDSqi49hFg5EmAGjhQ/s2584/20230224_234317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2584" data-original-width="1668" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9w46pEWxr_6tueGgr0rh_DSYMh2_cjj2eSKYgSVVFrDhM7R5jigReoiCUneDC5vK4iwpe0718zri7qpmkSfvkTm6-9iSG2RjZlrsmhs4M3kmkbsoJ1NF9EfjJMMJfSiGLDuUFGaFGhAPbUhm2xIoLY0xrOcsH_xA4nkuWLSpGDSqi49hFg5EmAGjhQ/s320/20230224_234317.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p>6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Under 200 pages</p><p>It's a vets life / Alex Duncan</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3fr-9J2dwwkBma9MyR9xgMLe9ChyNkZ3ySYCBanhB2nXukcqdZTQFXXRbvJxFXcZnvHNp2pMlU3njtrSBBcv1kalq2yPZRN1-jizLnqRxUF6SfRRdaV_TAj5K88fTG_myCI2rN5BNHYus8gJgTkX6EO4IkxtLemZoGMzwoWCPlpojM5GQVFltxaPuQ/s400/9781900064163.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3fr-9J2dwwkBma9MyR9xgMLe9ChyNkZ3ySYCBanhB2nXukcqdZTQFXXRbvJxFXcZnvHNp2pMlU3njtrSBBcv1kalq2yPZRN1-jizLnqRxUF6SfRRdaV_TAj5K88fTG_myCI2rN5BNHYus8gJgTkX6EO4IkxtLemZoGMzwoWCPlpojM5GQVFltxaPuQ/s320/9781900064163.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><p>7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A city or country name in the title</p><p>Hand-grenade practice in Peking / Frances Wood. An astonishing memoire of China in the last days of Chairman Mao. Often laugh out loud funny.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-b3nwwXlpxomupS641jmjjp4j3V5t5tjOles7TrzC0jkBO806KARGPKzvHgqkhBlsRPtiRmBWc03pJ3TW-q4dpfpT01i2sQ3Lm00PpgLxQWtQxgXeF_WmqyJ3GX3VJ5Yv7UYSLyJYiqOtOQkONW6ONp_bYLSdizi5J5Brlad4n6jFH-k5bb9kWHJJg/s2694/20230204_163308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2694" data-original-width="1671" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-b3nwwXlpxomupS641jmjjp4j3V5t5tjOles7TrzC0jkBO806KARGPKzvHgqkhBlsRPtiRmBWc03pJ3TW-q4dpfpT01i2sQ3Lm00PpgLxQWtQxgXeF_WmqyJ3GX3VJ5Yv7UYSLyJYiqOtOQkONW6ONp_bYLSdizi5J5Brlad4n6jFH-k5bb9kWHJJg/s320/20230204_163308.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">8.</span><span style="text-align: left; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Dystopian Fiction</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The memory of animals / Claire Fuller. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Brilliant but incredibly sad dystopian novel. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVt8AMNqixTg61-EdZGBMMECSxwYKSoR_1sdk_WGjg9dnAzKQAmaoYXGqIP-dUsqX_58Hqqnmq8Gc6-_B5Zi4iK5B1pzRxjeQPVXiZVE-Gbi9br8v94k_11TL2BUR26MeIeQ4ZVc7Xce_4f7oYZAVgKQvddcqNSbvShFcqkcBbNhjht4eFGgJSgElXg/s2918/20230424_221649.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2918" data-original-width="1751" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVt8AMNqixTg61-EdZGBMMECSxwYKSoR_1sdk_WGjg9dnAzKQAmaoYXGqIP-dUsqX_58Hqqnmq8Gc6-_B5Zi4iK5B1pzRxjeQPVXiZVE-Gbi9br8v94k_11TL2BUR26MeIeQ4ZVc7Xce_4f7oYZAVgKQvddcqNSbvShFcqkcBbNhjht4eFGgJSgElXg/s320/20230424_221649.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">9.</span><span style="text-align: left; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">A book with a dedication</span></div><p>A private cathedral / James Lee Burke.</p><p>One of those books (thankfully rare) where you read it and think what the heck was that about? </p><p>10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Takes place during the roaring twenties</p><p>Partners in crime / Agatha Christie. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7v0KcdP6-134e1IJ3t3teovnnWVTbCJo5IS9Hs0mEWy3qzc3f2tVe-fzYn0ezOoMgSOkrNUD8_MmXwo6LT9WaosPv9tUNorLyIx24HOSiY4THyn_-8TZECcvuYK0ExIhUWgzlcR-yQyC8mV0Uhalfajv1juf6Pi2-HeM1U7S4bspkAeLV5liwuvTWA/s277/download%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7v0KcdP6-134e1IJ3t3teovnnWVTbCJo5IS9Hs0mEWy3qzc3f2tVe-fzYn0ezOoMgSOkrNUD8_MmXwo6LT9WaosPv9tUNorLyIx24HOSiY4THyn_-8TZECcvuYK0ExIhUWgzlcR-yQyC8mV0Uhalfajv1juf6Pi2-HeM1U7S4bspkAeLV5liwuvTWA/s1600/download%20(1).jpeg" width="182" /></a></div><p>The 20s may not be roaring in London but with Russian spies, drug smugglers and a clergyman's daughter in distress, it's a busy time for crime novel loving Tommy and Tuppence. Interesting insight into the authors that Agatha Christie enjoyed reading too.</p><p>This also completes the February Read Christie 2023 challenge.</p><p>11.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book about secrets</p><p>Dead lion / John and Emery Bonett.</p><p>A spot of blackmail leads to murder. Features one of the nastiest victims in any murder mystery.</p><p>12.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>High Fantasy</p><p>Finn family Moomintroll / Tove Jansson</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FiYFTl78KeQzUS7VxylaZGg64hJhsvM0WKs8E45Pz-lf9eeHsCjUfkRLyqMxF2bnTMxXU9h0eAUlWuo8zHWuwPSyAxzQMoKnTAag-wsiJ6KaXW8qfMMKYm6KToOfJuiYE1-HeA_7SpCruM0bS4UrD-Jkcf4elcl5bpnPLt8h3r_qYxHHtBmPIzxANFK5/s2760/20230827_191418.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2760" data-original-width="1770" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FiYFTl78KeQzUS7VxylaZGg64hJhsvM0WKs8E45Pz-lf9eeHsCjUfkRLyqMxF2bnTMxXU9h0eAUlWuo8zHWuwPSyAxzQMoKnTAag-wsiJ6KaXW8qfMMKYm6KToOfJuiYE1-HeA_7SpCruM0bS4UrD-Jkcf4elcl5bpnPLt8h3r_qYxHHtBmPIzxANFK5/s320/20230827_191418.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br /><p>Some might argue that this is not High Fantasy. It is set in a place a little like Finland, there is even a (very brief) mention of America. It is so very other worldly though that in my mind it qualifies.</p><p>I've known of the Moomins for years and loved the illustrations, but this is the first Moomin book I've read and a holiday in Scandinavia seemed the perfect place to start. I adored the story - gentle and whimsical and utterly adorable. A feel good book on every level.</p><p>13.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Published posthumously</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov. One of my favourite novels, and the only one that I own several editions in multiple translations (this was my fourth translation, and my favourite so far). Somehow or other The Master managed to slip most appropriately past the Soviet censors and onto the streets of 1960s Moscow. Its own history is almost as wondrous as the story itself. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkGL-G3dyHljO6iPZshPYruEKUN3OHmGkPWZgKktl6_zQE8ETInq-Iy9kweRH4Sm6Oycf6vXtIEQgORwkUiuTvSZrWti9SEpL1X3k2sPlTnpsGNiNBVCHJbJOSved0vR7KeAg_jVj8vuu1XRyTZrMXvodF-p9O4VsDwxbUBoa_vCcaGOAzx89FhwYZg/s2589/20230412_080317.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2589" data-original-width="1625" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkGL-G3dyHljO6iPZshPYruEKUN3OHmGkPWZgKktl6_zQE8ETInq-Iy9kweRH4Sm6Oycf6vXtIEQgORwkUiuTvSZrWti9SEpL1X3k2sPlTnpsGNiNBVCHJbJOSved0vR7KeAg_jVj8vuu1XRyTZrMXvodF-p9O4VsDwxbUBoa_vCcaGOAzx89FhwYZg/w253-h400/20230412_080317.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzQJdVWeBUgbsLUyBAFoQIbZKS2AK9cFLzo2_sQMZNxGpnWzvpXWIDLgJlw5YZkpW3BN4Z6FpFiGPuZ29BREAzgu-5CwJM6aR-KcBVx7K0eacQRLtI2WuBLIWImEpoZzy1Hgte8hdZwhFu4FchP_yeRZgEhCpvxAaTSgD5MVjC_8BTADRwA7JPT1_5Q/s2655/20230412_080326.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2655" data-original-width="1644" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzQJdVWeBUgbsLUyBAFoQIbZKS2AK9cFLzo2_sQMZNxGpnWzvpXWIDLgJlw5YZkpW3BN4Z6FpFiGPuZ29BREAzgu-5CwJM6aR-KcBVx7K0eacQRLtI2WuBLIWImEpoZzy1Hgte8hdZwhFu4FchP_yeRZgEhCpvxAaTSgD5MVjC_8BTADRwA7JPT1_5Q/w248-h400/20230412_080326.jpg" width="248" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">14.</span><span style="text-align: left; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">A survival story</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Terezin diary of Gonda Redlich.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">This may seem an odd choice. Gonda, his wife Gerta and their 7 month old son, little Dan disappeared into the fog of Auschwitz. None of them, especially Dan, who was born in Terezin, had a proper chance to live their lives. That was taken away from them. But in Gonda's diary they come to life again. Their love and their hopes and their pride in their child. Through Gonda's diary they live again, especially in the diary written for Dan. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Written apparently for posterity, something for Dan to read post-war, though I suspect his father knew that they were </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">already very near the end of their journey. Something then for those who survived to read, so that Gonda, Gerta and Dan would never be forgotten. It is, I think, a kind of survival. I for one won't forget them.</span></div></div><p></p><p>15.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set in Australia</p><p>Walkabout / James Vance Marshall.</p><p>Spoiler alert.</p><p>I remember seeing the film of this many years ago and finding it rather disturbing. The book has something of the same quality but is also very surprising.</p><p>Published in the 1950s, it tells the story of a boy and a girl from the southern United States, who are stranded in the Australian bush, and likely to die until they are befriended by an Aboriginal boy, who is on walkabout. </p><p>The language earlier in the novel is undeniably racist, partly I think to reflect the white children's own preconceptions about race, and partly, unfortunately, reflecting outmoded, and plain wrong thinking specifically about Australian first nations.</p><p>However it is the Aboriginal boy, whose name we never know, who saves the children's lives, and in doing so loses his.</p><p>By the end of the novel the white children realise that he has shown them how to live and there is a new appreciation for their lives, the seemingly hostile environment of the bush, and the aborigines themselves.</p><p>The language cleverly changes through the novel reflecting the change in the children's own perceptions. </p><p>It's not a comfortable read, but it is undeniably compelling and a love song to the countryside of Australia.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw073iK_djtUvdA_4EqUB4-Is76jxXCqgzcDMTBj4QQ78VMUktkkkMXiXF6RpU3qlhyHq80G85ZVzv9wWsAzib3L5UlGqqmVcZ14w24aghJoAkhA5SLy4r9GSqmcbraVX6fKv2cv3bHT1VcBLV1oPniE7_LGU_BBezeYgOHqF_c0CSoh2QF7oa0vlHw/s289/download%20(4).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="175" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw073iK_djtUvdA_4EqUB4-Is76jxXCqgzcDMTBj4QQ78VMUktkkkMXiXF6RpU3qlhyHq80G85ZVzv9wWsAzib3L5UlGqqmVcZ14w24aghJoAkhA5SLy4r9GSqmcbraVX6fKv2cv3bHT1VcBLV1oPniE7_LGU_BBezeYgOHqF_c0CSoh2QF7oa0vlHw/s1600/download%20(4).jpeg" width="175" /></a></div><p>16.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Featuring one of the “seven deadly sins”</p><p>Death in the city of light / David King.</p><p>An extraordinary true crime book in which a, now largely forgotten, serial killer stalks Paris as the Nazi occupation draws to a close. At the heart of his killing spree lies an extraordinary greed that often targets the most vulnerable.</p><p>17.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By a Caribbean author</p><p>Quartet by Jean Rhys</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielGzOd_DDXKxg7DB9i0iPYfMGCRUPrpgLachhgh0-8hxp1tVPuXL6bog6EnVJnpTw0zBMQJz2_TXMm3A1DiptpIm0VJrIvFg4XUg1_PAovXCj7-1tP_Kxg1mcCinTLfu9TjoV9n6M-oqq55dDWWQqRK845dV5JiMh_zoG-VwxHthHOu6xFaqt4TEmVAEO/s1486/20230811_131700.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="754" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielGzOd_DDXKxg7DB9i0iPYfMGCRUPrpgLachhgh0-8hxp1tVPuXL6bog6EnVJnpTw0zBMQJz2_TXMm3A1DiptpIm0VJrIvFg4XUg1_PAovXCj7-1tP_Kxg1mcCinTLfu9TjoV9n6M-oqq55dDWWQqRK845dV5JiMh_zoG-VwxHthHOu6xFaqt4TEmVAEO/s320/20230811_131700.jpg" width="162" /></a></div><p>18.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set during a war other than WWI or WWII - Master and Commander / Patrick O'Brian</p><p>Set during the Napoleonic wars, Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian is a cracking start to the Aubrey-Maturin series.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWRT8H1ipxr223jBgXmTXVyZNgNvvlXGcP5oVeohRGNWe72LBajUIBv9ytmJSLEXbL2Cb3GQjVRzBd5JZfeyr2ZkPIz9NzOpX2kJQJFawckpMWyA4XWgFoM-NtoLiwj8JomXG0g1LOfxXJ1SGJNFujNKVIOPHZiM_btOi0uQ0oWyEaaoU9ec-luQLwQ/s2380/20230601_122231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2380" data-original-width="1476" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWRT8H1ipxr223jBgXmTXVyZNgNvvlXGcP5oVeohRGNWe72LBajUIBv9ytmJSLEXbL2Cb3GQjVRzBd5JZfeyr2ZkPIz9NzOpX2kJQJFawckpMWyA4XWgFoM-NtoLiwj8JomXG0g1LOfxXJ1SGJNFujNKVIOPHZiM_btOi0uQ0oWyEaaoU9ec-luQLwQ/s320/20230601_122231.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p>19.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Typographic cover</p><p>They both die at the end / Adam Silvera.</p><p>An extraordinary read. This Young Adult novel blew me away. Incredibly sad but also oddly life affirming. I loved it even if I spent most of the book on the edge of tears.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2V0MyMomn2WBm0YkzzwaseLb98J32pZkB6W2XjkefK_4HLsYAtxQAgzWLZfZPAj6SsiAXMxwGOQKcMXiNE9NeO0bIJvj8AtHC7i1cx8s4h1wQXP3aqoDM4jB_pVXYNJcAjdfTy7k_3KcswLt4qYTbmAGzkJ-4ypY2QhOqf-gmtKVJGGYxVmsSVfyVw/s2788/20230318_175926.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2788" data-original-width="1700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2V0MyMomn2WBm0YkzzwaseLb98J32pZkB6W2XjkefK_4HLsYAtxQAgzWLZfZPAj6SsiAXMxwGOQKcMXiNE9NeO0bIJvj8AtHC7i1cx8s4h1wQXP3aqoDM4jB_pVXYNJcAjdfTy7k_3KcswLt4qYTbmAGzkJ-4ypY2QhOqf-gmtKVJGGYxVmsSVfyVw/s320/20230318_175926.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><p>20.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book about siblings</p><p>Though by no means solely about siblings, there were lots in Elizabeth Gaskell's heart warming Cranford.</p><p>Such a lovely book to read with sweet characters including the adorable Miss Matty, who reminded me so much of my own much loved Great-Aunt. Heart warming.</p><p>21.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A second-hand book</p><p>Maigret right and wrong / Georges Simenon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiGxpc6NwMMUO23aGLA_K9D-bKELRGC48iNWBTvpUn4R2hj--aSVktFgXiCDZ3Zk6bU3LxKbKStOz_qCY5rOwr_OMQiZYVJfH0RVtfE7lqqBo-PMSf7ujP2HD1Q6ZPQH82E0bGx3zc1IT_rL33pIdvtf3dsBAIXdqSmr66wSzFhhmiPi-3Uegb2bsvA/s2639/20230111_220809.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2639" data-original-width="1807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiGxpc6NwMMUO23aGLA_K9D-bKELRGC48iNWBTvpUn4R2hj--aSVktFgXiCDZ3Zk6bU3LxKbKStOz_qCY5rOwr_OMQiZYVJfH0RVtfE7lqqBo-PMSf7ujP2HD1Q6ZPQH82E0bGx3zc1IT_rL33pIdvtf3dsBAIXdqSmr66wSzFhhmiPi-3Uegb2bsvA/s320/20230111_220809.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><p>A Maigret anthology (Maigret in Montmartre and Maigret's anthology). This rather battered 1st edition from 1954 has a beautiful cover and an interesting history. It belonged originally to an independent library, then went to live with a new owner in Melton Mowbray, ended up in a wonderful secondhand bookshop in rural Suffolk where it was snatched up by me. I do love the history of secondhand books. The Maigret stories are pretty good too.</p><p>22.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A body-positive message</p><p>Have found this a particularly tricky challenge so have gone with the choice of another 52 Book Challenger - The unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. Am going through a difficult time at the moment and Mrs. Pollifax is pure joy.</p><p>23.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An alliterative title</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfV0UMqgQXYdc-GaKFSW2Ygs8f41fWUqODvO8fwayuGOgg2Zv-BrbOLeK66HnuZ2b5yueP3iyq5nGYl83euuN4_YDDbuElSADl8Qi3v6YeOcgmmruiTw_aSjhNhxuc9V_eorpWtU2RMsuQ2HaIdG5tfsKQOJy6GwS9DcEo65YE1vtc88j94XWSjAbPg/s2487/20230115_210358.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2487" data-original-width="1533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfV0UMqgQXYdc-GaKFSW2Ygs8f41fWUqODvO8fwayuGOgg2Zv-BrbOLeK66HnuZ2b5yueP3iyq5nGYl83euuN4_YDDbuElSADl8Qi3v6YeOcgmmruiTw_aSjhNhxuc9V_eorpWtU2RMsuQ2HaIdG5tfsKQOJy6GwS9DcEo65YE1vtc88j94XWSjAbPg/s320/20230115_210358.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br />The discourtesy of death / William Broderick.<p></p><p>First book I've read in the Brother Anselm series and adored it. Set in Suffolk, several scenes are set in one of my favourite places - Leiston Abbey. It also alerted me to the pier at Southwold, that somehow despite numerous visits, I had completely missed.</p><p>24.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nordic Noir</p><p>The night man / Jorn Lier Horst</p><p>25.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A fashionable character</p><p>Gods and Kings / Dana Thomas.</p><p>Loads of fashionable characters in this joint biography of fashion designers John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. Goes oddly well with my last read of I Claudius. Both are tales of decadence.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuLcTg6QiQBNx9MA1EwkwAJlY3jNqyzr_AudhFoy3rgVaxPaImb5mtXFInH67Ws0l9uj3Ho_2VctOQmZ-6JWbZk474KkSRoSFDmyYk19658qfHky4pvreRATIIoluXSjJ31wQ67fhpdVkf7TVF7q4rWc5xgNitdNLhPQhvhrjM6gKLj6DuYoRi3DCvw/s2359/20230302_235247.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2359" data-original-width="1657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuLcTg6QiQBNx9MA1EwkwAJlY3jNqyzr_AudhFoy3rgVaxPaImb5mtXFInH67Ws0l9uj3Ho_2VctOQmZ-6JWbZk474KkSRoSFDmyYk19658qfHky4pvreRATIIoluXSjJ31wQ67fhpdVkf7TVF7q4rWc5xgNitdNLhPQhvhrjM6gKLj6DuYoRi3DCvw/s320/20230302_235247.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p>26.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Has an epilogue</p><p>Shield of thunder / David Gemmell. The power of a 3000 year old story re-imagined brilliantly. Was completely captivated by it.</p><p>27.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Newbery Medal Winner</p><p>The voyages of Doctor Doolittle / Hugh Lofting</p><p>28.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Includes a funeral</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Kz5DFMjqlkaJIMFiygJzyv6zPgv1OPd9Q_FCctM28ZVR-ZbKPaQgBrINUvn-hvtokdEztfY9buJQ4lwYTMQhwWcABvupEKasm-XpWgaUma8OWnN8Ue_yM2zMnpe_BOhijTMT54vf4162Xa_tPktn5eqwL1YlfSQ_vqKecaoR6ZcGcpUqS5Iu_rvTUw/s2753/20230127_073624.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2753" data-original-width="1775" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Kz5DFMjqlkaJIMFiygJzyv6zPgv1OPd9Q_FCctM28ZVR-ZbKPaQgBrINUvn-hvtokdEztfY9buJQ4lwYTMQhwWcABvupEKasm-XpWgaUma8OWnN8Ue_yM2zMnpe_BOhijTMT54vf4162Xa_tPktn5eqwL1YlfSQ_vqKecaoR6ZcGcpUqS5Iu_rvTUw/s320/20230127_073624.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><p>Human traces by Sebastian Faulks.</p><p>Bit of a curate's egg of a novel. Hard going in places (unless you're a fan of psychiatry papers) but with moments of extraordinary beauty. Worth persevering for that.</p><p>29.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sends you down a rabbit hole - The ship Asunder / Tom Nancollas</p><p>Wonderful book about Britain's relationship with the sea told through the stories of the ships and boats connected to this country. Lots of I never knew that moments. Had me scurrying to find extra information. I loved it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJKqx6SeRnX-q-388m-w4HaGq2Rj7MF42pyvKiJ9TflCUnkMMa7ae5hWKopu3huyWJm29RhKN8jqLI_3x9KhTB57jaUcia9SI7u3a7lOwQcDbm_uY7yevzFnRoMlq5u4C-aAhheA9fBlhYzGflv5T1Nj0wFLA54NCcDwDoN6AGhK32NMWpT3NtzLBrA/s2260/20230429_063706.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2260" data-original-width="1461" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJKqx6SeRnX-q-388m-w4HaGq2Rj7MF42pyvKiJ9TflCUnkMMa7ae5hWKopu3huyWJm29RhKN8jqLI_3x9KhTB57jaUcia9SI7u3a7lOwQcDbm_uY7yevzFnRoMlq5u4C-aAhheA9fBlhYzGflv5T1Nj0wFLA54NCcDwDoN6AGhK32NMWpT3NtzLBrA/s320/20230429_063706.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p>30.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An author with a same name as you</p><p>Bel canto / Ann Patchett</p><p>Amazing novel. My book of the year so far. Will be reading lots more Ann Patchett.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejHks1EGbjB8zXk2agr0LZMJr4HhkSkvmPEn5yejFYR8awFzW8lC3BtozcpJ5ISJtdoiSUdEku-CpiXzryzQf1ubh3jgldE54qjazW7Z0fmRJSiHqhkW-npIvF9w2_zor_SUgQ9NUyH4VioNw6qMHIDtp3QIU-_lM-jsk2Kw7sgkodmxzAY0UheFoPA/s3028/20230324_131019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3028" data-original-width="1803" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejHks1EGbjB8zXk2agr0LZMJr4HhkSkvmPEn5yejFYR8awFzW8lC3BtozcpJ5ISJtdoiSUdEku-CpiXzryzQf1ubh3jgldE54qjazW7Z0fmRJSiHqhkW-npIvF9w2_zor_SUgQ9NUyH4VioNw6qMHIDtp3QIU-_lM-jsk2Kw7sgkodmxzAY0UheFoPA/s320/20230324_131019.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><p>31.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set in a workplace</p><p>Phineas Finn / Anthony Trollope. Partly set in and around the House of Commons, where our eponymous hero is starting his political career. Whether or not it qualifies as a workplace, may be down to your views on politicians!</p><p>32.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Published by Macmillan</p><p>A tale of two cities / Charles Dickens.</p><p>Part of the very attractive Macmillan Collector's Library series.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXGQeUWcuOMsylA-9OOnetwdQStljlxMZNk-auvJ50Sp6NlpIleFfSiWnlRBreZfkOGJ05TJa6DU4gwcpP-RTnfImPrdx35KH8uIjiecqtifJh_oIlm1qXFNQ2ltFk4g2nv4wZbNRN9i_jj8euYVPjnkkJYElRAl9148mZwOR_nHGsHJausCPwrCMdg/s2355/20230403_205907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2355" data-original-width="1748" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXGQeUWcuOMsylA-9OOnetwdQStljlxMZNk-auvJ50Sp6NlpIleFfSiWnlRBreZfkOGJ05TJa6DU4gwcpP-RTnfImPrdx35KH8uIjiecqtifJh_oIlm1qXFNQ2ltFk4g2nv4wZbNRN9i_jj8euYVPjnkkJYElRAl9148mZwOR_nHGsHJausCPwrCMdg/s320/20230403_205907.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><p>33.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A banned book</p><p>The little prince / Antoine Saint-Exupery.</p><p>Banned in Vichy France (as were all of Saint-Exupery's writings).</p><p>What an odd, haunting read.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnE6RqK_hmSLFbVuCarMO4_x3Zyy0rC2ASCz86Ct-fHYGEiPDBaRh1x6SMDGPp7ZyE2B-1C98deJ6k9at7Z2gto5H5OMyESNoY3i10AYFQIpAOtYor-tWxpfWEUoXrA1mldEbZn_bzY8hjafaFCTSAaGv7uJFKblC209aNLkE_QLHlTKL8j_g1BxZlIg/s2428/20230319_091844.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2428" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnE6RqK_hmSLFbVuCarMO4_x3Zyy0rC2ASCz86Ct-fHYGEiPDBaRh1x6SMDGPp7ZyE2B-1C98deJ6k9at7Z2gto5H5OMyESNoY3i10AYFQIpAOtYor-tWxpfWEUoXrA1mldEbZn_bzY8hjafaFCTSAaGv7uJFKblC209aNLkE_QLHlTKL8j_g1BxZlIg/s320/20230319_091844.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><p>34.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Featuring mythology</p><p>Troy: Fall of Kings / David and Stella Gemmell</p><p>The last in the Troy series, this is a stunning and surprisingly plausible re-telling of the legend. Absolutely loved it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJsZi_uil_rolAlqwKxLEKDGIWNGbXEM9tj0kAhIjSvvwr_ll0NAGj82cCsI247isVHkQh45EUYtBN4ZIcew_-6WI_rlfLpK0nyNX6Hr95LnKplZvvi8QQPDfwctz5Qco1WRa1FQ9kPXr7WrhQgKR-jwLGfBDBBGknawtWsWjJi308FQsH9AuPZcmwzHq/s278/download.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJsZi_uil_rolAlqwKxLEKDGIWNGbXEM9tj0kAhIjSvvwr_ll0NAGj82cCsI247isVHkQh45EUYtBN4ZIcew_-6WI_rlfLpK0nyNX6Hr95LnKplZvvi8QQPDfwctz5Qco1WRa1FQ9kPXr7WrhQgKR-jwLGfBDBBGknawtWsWjJi308FQsH9AuPZcmwzHq/s1600/download.jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>35.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book you meant to read last year</p><p>A life in secrets / Sarah Helm.</p><p>Compelling biography of Vera Atkins, the woman responsible for sending out many of the female agents involved with the French section of SOE in the Second World War. She was also relentless in finding out what had happened to those who never returned. </p><p>The background to Vera's own life is quite astonishing. It was also sobering to discover that the very first book I ever read about SOE, many years ago, by former agent John Goldsmith with his suspicions of treachery, has been confirmed by recently declassified papers. It's not always an easy read, but it is incredibly powerful.</p><p>36.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chapters have cliffhangers</p><p>Death ship / Jim Kelly.</p><p>Jim Kelly is swiftly becoming one of my favourite murder mystery writers. I've loved the Cambridge and Ely historical series, and have just discovered his Hunstanton mysteries.</p><p>Plenty of cliffhangers in this novel. It also has one of the nicest dedications of any book to the RNLI of Hunstanton.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4g-Ov3fXRz_QBGv325LXz8bs07kj49x1i882GgIMDrCdqi4xJrlEnMAu61kJzl4yPK-GfcgdM8FL2nF8-jEFP2qWd49UEPHQFnEjBl8LM4dJUyOJ-cdgYxofwN-6tolLuiU5TIgBLHUiTYT2li35l70EPZn0eiVRiaa59BST90EYQSmyXEF3069dd1A/s3434/20230328_000942.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3434" data-original-width="1805" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4g-Ov3fXRz_QBGv325LXz8bs07kj49x1i882GgIMDrCdqi4xJrlEnMAu61kJzl4yPK-GfcgdM8FL2nF8-jEFP2qWd49UEPHQFnEjBl8LM4dJUyOJ-cdgYxofwN-6tolLuiU5TIgBLHUiTYT2li35l70EPZn0eiVRiaa59BST90EYQSmyXEF3069dd1A/s320/20230328_000942.jpg" width="168" /></a></div><br /><p>37.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Written in present tense</p><p>You let me in / Lucy Clarke</p><p>Set at different points in the narrator's life, much of Clarke's creepy psychological thriller is in the present tense. The ending is perhaps a little flat but there's a splendidly eerie build-up to it (especially if you're reading it at night alone in the house!)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS0lZEqXJXVNc3_6a5QIUux-hsvy1oFALKi7JDDRamCErz9FoV0UVk_mDmvsQmVRqM_XNKNYp9V4xxRNB6ny4tyPsgDA9dQFQIdMgw0nNMj7vCUx0g1asB4myn--NqvV8zXtpxyxGYLU3acNBNgrMqrh6ZuCwb_IZQ76jx7kJI-CqAhBqMMQbrgSQJQ44/s2448/20230920_000028.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="1588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS0lZEqXJXVNc3_6a5QIUux-hsvy1oFALKi7JDDRamCErz9FoV0UVk_mDmvsQmVRqM_XNKNYp9V4xxRNB6ny4tyPsgDA9dQFQIdMgw0nNMj7vCUx0g1asB4myn--NqvV8zXtpxyxGYLU3acNBNgrMqrh6ZuCwb_IZQ76jx7kJI-CqAhBqMMQbrgSQJQ44/s320/20230920_000028.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p>38.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An enemies-to-lovers plot</p><div>Shards of honor / Lois McMaster Bujold</div><p>39.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The final book in a series</p><p>As of May 13th 2023 Letters from the dead by Sam Hurcom is the final book in the Thomas Bexley series. Judging by the cliffhanger at the end, there may well be more, but who knows...</p><p>Strange book. I picked it up expecting a detective story set in Victorian times, it was that but was principally a rather strange Dennis Wheatley / Sixth sense / Fu Manchu melange. </p><p>Would I read more in the series? Not sure. Did I enjoy this one? Took some getting into, but proved to be surprisingly compulsive.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIc5mVEy6r_HKvisgZNAzTOYUwqO_PHLV2jWOz_wy7Duie5H7QyXuSdpkRClVC6mjrwHF4aeI3lcdTmcmy2IT-vWUBbL_gC63RH5qMHRj-sKlWt80c1TdpIvDc1kIrhDQ2hpcbGGEH6QCEoi7ib0_-FCGp-klP1kauIlmtSJKL5mGnx2EIiaVJ7wy4g/s2712/20230513_082017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2712" data-original-width="1808" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIc5mVEy6r_HKvisgZNAzTOYUwqO_PHLV2jWOz_wy7Duie5H7QyXuSdpkRClVC6mjrwHF4aeI3lcdTmcmy2IT-vWUBbL_gC63RH5qMHRj-sKlWt80c1TdpIvDc1kIrhDQ2hpcbGGEH6QCEoi7ib0_-FCGp-klP1kauIlmtSJKL5mGnx2EIiaVJ7wy4g/s320/20230513_082017.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>40.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Written by a comedian</p><p>Adolf Hitler : my part in his downfall / Spike Milligan.</p><p>Spike Milligan's memoir of the early days of the Second World War has not altogether aged well. But there are some wonderfully comical laugh out loud moments made all the more powerful by their juxtaposition with some dreadful memories. He writes well about the madness and oddness of a world suddenly plunged into war.</p><p>41.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A character who is a refugee</p><p>Lots of refugees, most notably Prince Yakimov in the first volume of Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy - The Great Fortune. One of my favourite books (you can see I have a very old edition)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yuGQI__sYJOdythhIdDmi9WV_3omDiF7oWxPQUew4AHYA8qJjVJ3RbBlGlybY9XRsqPhI27DJDnP3PF_-k_lFjwq5QQ8N82V-NPTG3z9J6dUX7XN0cRhm96mSuv7vL-9Id5xRgG8YJgIYf9gSzGb5-BmfP8oyqEUNm0WA2EBemVvj-Jmc2-w1M7vkDiJ/s2532/20230724_224143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1583" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yuGQI__sYJOdythhIdDmi9WV_3omDiF7oWxPQUew4AHYA8qJjVJ3RbBlGlybY9XRsqPhI27DJDnP3PF_-k_lFjwq5QQ8N82V-NPTG3z9J6dUX7XN0cRhm96mSuv7vL-9Id5xRgG8YJgIYf9gSzGb5-BmfP8oyqEUNm0WA2EBemVvj-Jmc2-w1M7vkDiJ/s320/20230724_224143.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>42.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Time in the title</p><p>The 12.30 from Croydon / Freeman Wills Crofts.</p><p>Excellent Golden Age detective novel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaQ4POSBSbLc0L4FAEykU9dpuxlc6kTzuGf_bqy3g1FbrkwiGhxff2rLgliqZNInS38Tj4HMD44-jgwa-HK38MDUU4z45mDoyhD8XZ0ZqLzIpssTLW1n6A0CaQCFMNOI_6UK2xUYUEyQo7i8SjFJe-AIednCVHI0hnTHFl7Uvl-zGpmBsem4FB0L25A/s3660/20230216_231120.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3660" data-original-width="1788" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaQ4POSBSbLc0L4FAEykU9dpuxlc6kTzuGf_bqy3g1FbrkwiGhxff2rLgliqZNInS38Tj4HMD44-jgwa-HK38MDUU4z45mDoyhD8XZ0ZqLzIpssTLW1n6A0CaQCFMNOI_6UK2xUYUEyQo7i8SjFJe-AIednCVHI0hnTHFl7Uvl-zGpmBsem4FB0L25A/s320/20230216_231120.jpg" width="156" /></a></div><p>43.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book “everyone” has read</p><p>Flowers for Algernon / Daniel Keyes.</p><p>Chose this as I know its frequently a set text in schools, so will have been widely read. It would also fit the prompts for Banned book, Dedication and A book involving siblings.</p><p>Amazing powerful writing. Am sat here sobbing having just finished it. I loved the characters especially Charlie, Algernon and Alice. I can quite understand why Keyes wrestled with numerous publishers, who wanted to change the bleak ending to a happy ever after tale. The bleakness is the only ending that makes sense, but it is cruelly hard to read. Unforgettable.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif54pEWfmjqY3Wni3oApxtqBu7xh4ipy3fEgqdagV7m4s_oDAfUbIJwZRDmo-p7aM9lj3ndL8o4nkrItuDXkbS4Ue_jr6S95O0FBZ3_Er0cEqfLE9o1Y8LujSFEmgb0fvMNpxnJbGlFH5BrtzkLPLUh5SWXruiDClMIdPuHNZ3ImN631uVIDRxsu13j_1/s2303/20230927_002018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="1586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif54pEWfmjqY3Wni3oApxtqBu7xh4ipy3fEgqdagV7m4s_oDAfUbIJwZRDmo-p7aM9lj3ndL8o4nkrItuDXkbS4Ue_jr6S95O0FBZ3_Er0cEqfLE9o1Y8LujSFEmgb0fvMNpxnJbGlFH5BrtzkLPLUh5SWXruiDClMIdPuHNZ3ImN631uVIDRxsu13j_1/s320/20230927_002018.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><p>44.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A contemporary setting</p><p>Something to hide / Deborah Moggach.</p><p>Not entirely convinced by the plot, a couple of huge loopholes in it. And yet...it is astonishingly readable and kept me hooked. I ended up reading it at lightning speed.</p><p>Would also work well for the Secrets prompt.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPrfgBu-O7BeQ6hSwRR5_v9W2w6WDT48UP7UvlWG8YSwuWI28zT8INpYAS5jdQo4TRHI5oY2auDjVKzx6hjXWaII1C7jT2jJxPfGhaARH3zcYmbcK47SgH5fJM3OWR_gEjwcfbMujHN0SnYVBVL-fmFidnEQumW7qJhdoPbHQCw2xppM78RAUPm3U0g/s1451/20230330_125807.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1451" data-original-width="912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPrfgBu-O7BeQ6hSwRR5_v9W2w6WDT48UP7UvlWG8YSwuWI28zT8INpYAS5jdQo4TRHI5oY2auDjVKzx6hjXWaII1C7jT2jJxPfGhaARH3zcYmbcK47SgH5fJM3OWR_gEjwcfbMujHN0SnYVBVL-fmFidnEQumW7qJhdoPbHQCw2xppM78RAUPm3U0g/s320/20230330_125807.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><br /><p>45.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First word in the book is “The”</p><p>The secret life of Mr. Roos / Hakan Nesser.</p><p><span style="white-space: pre;">Bit of a slow burner, but another excellent Nordic noir from Hakan Nesser.</span></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdLN7BWsfGClLTKBObjPBvlpGhJ4VqDyjhIdcycQLNduHAT_OBdcOxWCad37j1V0E7QXqo64bmb_gE7NtwAdg7B0V8yo3gI5d5a3g8fYcOY6X2RkMOjBXYx0KBtqhEq7BNDeQnsdR_H5y4UheAbyjyEV6V565Nj9NjlD6a6DuYymluoV3W5GgsdNSTA/s2456/20230407_092326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2456" data-original-width="1534" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdLN7BWsfGClLTKBObjPBvlpGhJ4VqDyjhIdcycQLNduHAT_OBdcOxWCad37j1V0E7QXqo64bmb_gE7NtwAdg7B0V8yo3gI5d5a3g8fYcOY6X2RkMOjBXYx0KBtqhEq7BNDeQnsdR_H5y4UheAbyjyEV6V565Nj9NjlD6a6DuYymluoV3W5GgsdNSTA/s320/20230407_092326.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="white-space: pre;"><div><br /></div></span><span style="white-space: pre;">46. </span>Script font on the spine -<div>The assassin of Verona / Benet Brandreth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Really enjoyed this William Shakespeare mystery. The "spot the Shakespeare quote" game was sometimes a little wearing, but I still loved the book enough to want to read the first volume, and to be very sorry that there are, so far, no more in the series.</div><div><br /></div><div>A very enjoyable read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuKh6dmj6CHBr9C0VEnc0BcAnZl8hC9Lb_PnIAqCvllSrrKYCyRhVeSsUj1R_FjEjiYFEzjXhzxMOo6FBjZ9YutN4uabhUFvjEnlEbFdgFYX9YkYE4rbji03DhTocFr1bUhh_niUuqp2AhdCD4Gq-sGvG2CMMCYlpVpEvnlmSRSrxdyFZ9mqKD9k4d3bk/s2202/20230627_064653.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2202" data-original-width="1393" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuKh6dmj6CHBr9C0VEnc0BcAnZl8hC9Lb_PnIAqCvllSrrKYCyRhVeSsUj1R_FjEjiYFEzjXhzxMOo6FBjZ9YutN4uabhUFvjEnlEbFdgFYX9YkYE4rbji03DhTocFr1bUhh_niUuqp2AhdCD4Gq-sGvG2CMMCYlpVpEvnlmSRSrxdyFZ9mqKD9k4d3bk/s320/20230627_064653.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1EwT-J72KaQ8Iw0-ETev1IQwvybWTsaLxTKkfEgFZlDfsjK4yVYjfa3nfGf1X4kjCmbNl06SjGH6-qB3LBMrdoZiDO-5p85Bds8Gn4GSwK_BMhwxfMIzP6ujkofjgsBJnzHyv7QUAnRU6GPDuxyQiEP7XhBO-kz4qiYFGuZNgO3guTrowILZoYhCMdwu/s4032/20230627_064708.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1EwT-J72KaQ8Iw0-ETev1IQwvybWTsaLxTKkfEgFZlDfsjK4yVYjfa3nfGf1X4kjCmbNl06SjGH6-qB3LBMrdoZiDO-5p85Bds8Gn4GSwK_BMhwxfMIzP6ujkofjgsBJnzHyv7QUAnRU6GPDuxyQiEP7XhBO-kz4qiYFGuZNgO3guTrowILZoYhCMdwu/s320/20230627_064708.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div>47.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Set in the city of Dublin</div><div><p>Hide and Seek / Andrea Mara.</p><p>Flawed crime novel. Fun though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc0IrNiluEqhRjYSmaa9gSs2V0KA1FnWHy8zaSY58aJ4JSh-BI3mM82Uj3153hAyZ5hnL8QoHmkWCJlf2EXuVyTk31cgrg-SygR5-OMxnCAFgIZncIZiD9EcI2PAYAUCEchV5CwWdJFtMgQbCG3vcpPKusotoxyfg3o1qjzxj-D-GXKFLPOtB8p4BWQ/s2831/20230201_080822.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2831" data-original-width="1698" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc0IrNiluEqhRjYSmaa9gSs2V0KA1FnWHy8zaSY58aJ4JSh-BI3mM82Uj3153hAyZ5hnL8QoHmkWCJlf2EXuVyTk31cgrg-SygR5-OMxnCAFgIZncIZiD9EcI2PAYAUCEchV5CwWdJFtMgQbCG3vcpPKusotoxyfg3o1qjzxj-D-GXKFLPOtB8p4BWQ/s320/20230201_080822.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p>48.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book by Octavia E. Butler.</p><p>Kindred.</p><p>So glad to have discovered Octavia Butler thanks to this challenge. What an astonishing writer. She reminds me very much of one of my favourite sci-fi writers, Connie Willis, who must have been strongly influenced by Butler.</p><p>Kindred is compelling, sometimes brutal, always thought provoking, Novels about time travel seem an unlikely platform on which to write about history but both Butler and Willis do it flawlessly. No other book that I've read, with the exception of The underground railway, writes about slavery so graphically or terrifyingly.</p><p>49.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Books on the cover</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjxP0VGTHRql5dc3P54EAD_km_ALxU-JSg3LzqkTfUsnt8HXQGwQDQbUZSfoZIBg8BOb_IYBWQQydlJCRvVL7_NfB0cAGwjDAyCX-JxVcm2atL5Z1qVsNmtzsBwpl6Ah7qbANK1qmsgCB4a5XWe_QcV5AFX8AO3ZmVUuYYk7zQm-ctZoiW-7r-5VBQ3c2/s475/18927379.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjxP0VGTHRql5dc3P54EAD_km_ALxU-JSg3LzqkTfUsnt8HXQGwQDQbUZSfoZIBg8BOb_IYBWQQydlJCRvVL7_NfB0cAGwjDAyCX-JxVcm2atL5Z1qVsNmtzsBwpl6Ah7qbANK1qmsgCB4a5XWe_QcV5AFX8AO3ZmVUuYYk7zQm-ctZoiW-7r-5VBQ3c2/s320/18927379.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><p>The paper chase / John Jay Osborn, Jr.</p><p>In the 40th anniversary edition, the original book appears unusually on the front cover.</p><p>Decent novel, but one of those rare instances where the film and the marvellous TV series were even better.</p><p>50.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Related to the word “Murder”</p><p>Murder under her skin / Stephen Spotswood.</p><p>Absolutely loved this Pentecost and Parker mystery. Second in the series but, as I discovered, easy to read as a stand-alone. An unusual pair of detectives, great period atmosphere (post-war America) and cleverly constructed mystery. Thoroughly recommended.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yFYi-qBytqjGjag5r8JGQV5B5zErIS9O2qXfyEOVZG4rDgDFyHNJBM1w1QssEcmttEGp_EkquohWebvv8zb2W3M91fiRN82FXdHBU6mFufiaouOfWimZgx1IeSuSytw6NxzRGLesyMT5QXyp66cdblE7Gc60XwrUT8sRn5X4JAdYqBHpsbFxHckVbQ/s2449/20230213_024547.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2449" data-original-width="1566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yFYi-qBytqjGjag5r8JGQV5B5zErIS9O2qXfyEOVZG4rDgDFyHNJBM1w1QssEcmttEGp_EkquohWebvv8zb2W3M91fiRN82FXdHBU6mFufiaouOfWimZgx1IeSuSytw6NxzRGLesyMT5QXyp66cdblE7Gc60XwrUT8sRn5X4JAdYqBHpsbFxHckVbQ/s320/20230213_024547.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><p>51.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that doesn’t fit any of the other 51 prompts</p><p>Le cote de Guermantes / Marcel Proust</p><p>Although I read it in translation - The Guermantes way - under the original title, this fits nicely into this category. Not as easy a read as the earlier books in the In search of lost time sequence, volume 3 contains some incredibly tedious passages, but then you chance upon the sheer beauty of Proust's writing and unexpectedly comic moments and all is forgiven. </p><p>52.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Published in 2023</p><p>Back in the day / Melvyn Bragg</p><p>Beautifully written memoir of Bragg's childhood in a much loved Cumbrian town.</p><p>Slight cheat here. It was first published in 2022, but wasn't published in paperback until 2023. I read the paperback edition.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioehNekcLwp47KSNdPENWBChrUJVBkyMDX9Tvl1qNRmIV7ZFNd8slfbL_8f_9uUNBjzr1ySJE_7wkfBQM3wsRfsuEv03lqeLTKzfydV9UjERj2bTYhuaElYzgykZZjsFFZRuC6JuCh9TWrT7BeulrU3fvkjoP6XNYrYBl58wgZlxfoEB8sQKAtBd740A/s2390/20230416_092510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2390" data-original-width="1509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioehNekcLwp47KSNdPENWBChrUJVBkyMDX9Tvl1qNRmIV7ZFNd8slfbL_8f_9uUNBjzr1ySJE_7wkfBQM3wsRfsuEv03lqeLTKzfydV9UjERj2bTYhuaElYzgykZZjsFFZRuC6JuCh9TWrT7BeulrU3fvkjoP6XNYrYBl58wgZlxfoEB8sQKAtBd740A/s320/20230416_092510.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: center;">Weirdly and completely unplanned I finished the challenge on the same date as last year - November 27th. Now bring on the 2024 challenge.</span><p></p></div>Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-47068629230017750132021-12-27T01:40:00.065+00:002024-02-12T21:48:27.557+00:002022 52 Book Challenge - COMPLETED<p>Following successfully completing the 52 Book Challenge for 2021, I'm moving on to the 2022 Challenge.</p><p>More information can be found on the Facebook group, and here - https://www.the52book.club/.</p><p>I will add books here usually with brief comments as I complete the challenges. Here we go...</p><p>1. A second-person narrative
</p><p>Notes on an execution / Danya Kukafka. An astonishingly powerful book that I would have never read was it not for this challenge. The story is told from several viewpoints - the serial killer, told in the second person uncomfortably drawing the reader in, and the victims, families, and the tenacious police officer (all female).</p><p>On one level it is a fantastic crime novel, but it also challenges society's fascination with true crime, and its memory of those caught up in it.</p><p>It was often a troubling, difficult read but worth it. </p><p>2. Featuring a library or bookstore
</p><p>Books, baguettes and bedbugs / Jeremy Mercer.</p><p>Enchanting book about a Canadian journalist's flight to Paris and how he rediscovered himself courtesy f the wonderful if eccentric bookshop, Shakespeare and Company. Thoroughly enjoyed this. A real uplifting read.</p><p>3. Title starting with the letter “E”
</p><p>An English Murder by Cyril Hare </p><p>4. Title starting with the letter “F”
</p><p>A fine madness by Alan Judd. A compelling novel about the life and death of Christopher Marlow and his relationship with Elizabeth I's network of spies. </p><p>5. Chapters have titles
</p><p>The White Ship by Charles Spencer. An extraordinarily readable non-fiction account of the reign of Henry I, the tragedy of the White Ship, and the anarchy that ensued. Spencer brings the past to life, but what most stood out for me, even 900 years on, was a very human tragedy. Beautifully written. Would recommend.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCnjSNRlaCqcB-5NjihwYmx_DvT3Z3DhjwOQDXAEYZnamYnKu3FPhSfC-t2TUlyIKotHZQLcMqL2ozX5bQshNyXoW0BjVb7Umm9Bp4QzLjfiylO4lEVPtwLwbI0skq1r4SYQD3ZbXcOhIVqWCGUZ0lYRFJeqnOnuSMJaVldqvMHZ4y-sCGb2uAGzkEg/s2742/20220404_235817.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2742" data-original-width="1674" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCnjSNRlaCqcB-5NjihwYmx_DvT3Z3DhjwOQDXAEYZnamYnKu3FPhSfC-t2TUlyIKotHZQLcMqL2ozX5bQshNyXoW0BjVb7Umm9Bp4QzLjfiylO4lEVPtwLwbI0skq1r4SYQD3ZbXcOhIVqWCGUZ0lYRFJeqnOnuSMJaVldqvMHZ4y-sCGb2uAGzkEg/s320/20220404_235817.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>6. Household object on the cover
</p><p>A magnifying glass on the cover of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mystery Murder by the book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQxvWM0MNjZPLnQwnVTV2SCs4LHfPLM62SwX75t9C2ka-I-HJB3B1k0JsXYd_i1asg8h-dy5jPt6aBZFWCdCsvVXQkEp-wYtbYXMj27Lbw2dS3BEucateQUFvvOmkXcP3FddXK0_8KTP6s3Ry4ji4tMwinNBx9U-zzzUqHddY7ZozOEp925hPesiO0A/s2649/20220722_225259.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2649" data-original-width="1631" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQxvWM0MNjZPLnQwnVTV2SCs4LHfPLM62SwX75t9C2ka-I-HJB3B1k0JsXYd_i1asg8h-dy5jPt6aBZFWCdCsvVXQkEp-wYtbYXMj27Lbw2dS3BEucateQUFvvOmkXcP3FddXK0_8KTP6s3Ry4ji4tMwinNBx9U-zzzUqHddY7ZozOEp925hPesiO0A/s320/20220722_225259.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br /><p>7. A non-fiction bestseller</p><p>Lost dog : a love story by Kate Spicer.</p><p>I adored this book. Journalist Kate Spicer and her boyfriend adopt a 3rd-hand lurcher, Wolfy, who moves in and , the way dogs do, changes their lives, but then Wolfy goes missing. As Kate hunts for the dog, a whole new world of dog lovers and kindly people in the most unexpected places opens up. At the heart of the memoir though is the wonderful Wolfy.</p><p>It's a joyous read, sometimes difficult often hilarious. I loved it.</p><p>8. Involving the art world</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivudmwdnwvsacp0t-rtq7fYWvw5sOrNgl5hZpxikEBqQyVXb-QkXer6DhwWO5B7unQT1GXubfAydzSkiPjII3L9XJi1RowIdF_jUBORB4e13Z2ud9ANYNi4maXiYLvMz5KvvWH8d00bxuflgF9I53kzlJ7SFncxLUL7C03OCDGa7hGiph655X9hj5QTw=s2863" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2863" data-original-width="2353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivudmwdnwvsacp0t-rtq7fYWvw5sOrNgl5hZpxikEBqQyVXb-QkXer6DhwWO5B7unQT1GXubfAydzSkiPjII3L9XJi1RowIdF_jUBORB4e13Z2ud9ANYNi4maXiYLvMz5KvvWH8d00bxuflgF9I53kzlJ7SFncxLUL7C03OCDGa7hGiph655X9hj5QTw=s320" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juan de Pareja painted by Velazquez</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br />I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino.</span></div><p>9. A book that sparks joy
</p><p>My dog and me: To my little human, I love you / Samantha Heaton.</p><p>A very short children's book. Does it spark joy? Undoubtedly.</p><p>I first came across this on a Springer Spaniel group when a novice author asked for some advice. The book was received enthusiastically, and she responded by including Springers' names in the thanks (my beloved, and much missed, Alfie Spaniel is on there). </p><p>It's short, sweet and utterly charming. Written for her daughter it's made with love. How could it not spark joy?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgffiEf8rMAgR8DMgac6EPDzvk_El5UgiT4DUMWbyem-ZgJ8NJJyFhZ8xAPzcaU6cqOFAu8tzuUamzJUMGKJ30uLrSrb5fpOMzSxpF-N5v61RGzTUdJ6DjYFzDVSZkDJsEKwLLlMeOpwSIWBMe-FajcZhbDUl2uNmCd0ojmFnKrEP_FTvRtI7RBipoX9Q=s3190" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3190" data-original-width="1636" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgffiEf8rMAgR8DMgac6EPDzvk_El5UgiT4DUMWbyem-ZgJ8NJJyFhZ8xAPzcaU6cqOFAu8tzuUamzJUMGKJ30uLrSrb5fpOMzSxpF-N5v61RGzTUdJ6DjYFzDVSZkDJsEKwLLlMeOpwSIWBMe-FajcZhbDUl2uNmCd0ojmFnKrEP_FTvRtI7RBipoX9Q=s320" width="164" /></a></div><br /><p>10. A book based on a real person</p><p>Nothing like the sun / Anthony Burgess.</p><p>His fascinating fictionalised account of Shakespeare's private life.</p><p>11. A book with less than 2022 Goodreads ratings
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh137FIgHvfa3wKWI4X1cV7_kIaj9Y7N3A9JV0qXsMfFZZAFDyLO29yjTXDSmDWseVy4Cgvt60qYzjwDkgjZzK5A6BrEfa0hYfV-LrPZZtwfAZcx-0Jk0FCk6YBxSLT5L9uhriMcKcSVTYe/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3650" data-original-width="2421" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh137FIgHvfa3wKWI4X1cV7_kIaj9Y7N3A9JV0qXsMfFZZAFDyLO29yjTXDSmDWseVy4Cgvt60qYzjwDkgjZzK5A6BrEfa0hYfV-LrPZZtwfAZcx-0Jk0FCk6YBxSLT5L9uhriMcKcSVTYe/" width="159" /></a></div>Thoroughly enjoyed this stunning history of mountaineering in the Himalayas in the twentieth century, as various countries competed to bag the honour of reaching the tops of some of the world's highest mountains. <p></p><p>Amazing cast of characters from Nazis straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark to New Zealand bee-keepers, American millionaires, and some seriously feisty women.</p><p>A stunning read even if, like me, you have never climbed a mountain in your life (walking up mountains is fine, true climbing - nope)</p><p>12. Set on at least two continents</p><p>A writer's world : travels 1950-2000 / Jan Morris.</p><p>If there is a Heaven I am absolutely sure that travel writer Jan Morris will be there for she wrote like an angel. Beautiful book of fascinating writings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxD41iF9jmW6DnWw4QHneP68r3HelPg7mv7RN61k3j0tKMRKXEKjMAM7QtDfTVLOEOFjyW9I_T2PmFJkIUT2abB7UqDIQmlQ4Y_UA2DYsjNcmIHhqX1lsN__W_JpMYBV5BjqlwypdO6_VAexNda7jUnDTrL8LrlCrgQRRYpOWN-CgrU4DvPTRx9VIOA/s2372/20220602_160753.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2372" data-original-width="1496" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxD41iF9jmW6DnWw4QHneP68r3HelPg7mv7RN61k3j0tKMRKXEKjMAM7QtDfTVLOEOFjyW9I_T2PmFJkIUT2abB7UqDIQmlQ4Y_UA2DYsjNcmIHhqX1lsN__W_JpMYBV5BjqlwypdO6_VAexNda7jUnDTrL8LrlCrgQRRYpOWN-CgrU4DvPTRx9VIOA/w196-h311/20220602_160753.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><p>13. Includes a club</p><p>The unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers. </p><p>14. A character with superhuman ability
</p><p>One woman walks Wales / Ursula Martin.</p><p>Not really into comic book / fantasy superhuman types. But when I read Ursula's memoir of her more than 3700 mile walk around Wales for ovarian cancer, I thought if that's not superhuman I don't know what is.</p><p>First came across Ursula on Twitter when she been walking across Eastern Europe. Knew nothing of her back story and then chanced upon this in a Fenland library just as I was about to return to my homeland of Wales for a holiday. I had to read it.</p><p>15. A five-syllable title
</p><p>Friend of the devil by Peter Robinson. All hail Peter Robinson - King of the police procedural.</p><p>16. A book you’ve seen someone reading in a public place
</p><p>Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. </p><p>This was one of the very few books I saw being read in a public place, all the way back at the start of the challenge in January. It's an absolutely glorious book. Heartbreakingly beautiful. I read the closing pages in a noisy canteen (ironically you wouldn't have known what I was reading either, reading it on my phone), and time and noise stopped as I was back in Tudor England grieving for a lost child. Wonderful writing. O'Farrell thoroughly deserved the Women's prize for fiction.</p><p>17. A book picked based on its spine
</p><p>The appeal / Janice Hallett.</p><p>The appeal by Janice Hallett is brilliant. Cosy crime meets Cluedo. It's a bit of a hark back to the You're the detective novels complete with pull out clues of the 1920s, which I've always thought looked like fun. I've never read anything quite like it. Dead clever.</p><p>18. Jane Austen-inspired
</p><p>I couldn't say for sure that High rising by Angela Thirkell was inspired by Jane Austen, but this comedy of manners owes a lot to the earlier writer, so I had to include it.</p><p>19. A book that has an alternate title
</p><p>The Trapp family singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. Am sure that I have come across this in a later edition where it was retitled The sound of music, with the original title given as the subtitle.</p><p>20. Related to the word “gold”
</p><p>The great bazaar & Brayan's gold by Peter V. Brett. Two fantasy novellas. Not the sort of book I would normally read, but might read more in the series now.</p><p>21. Published by Simon & Schuster
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUe524W8vx2S5Z6EC6ilFiCF2EV95MgIjkSxCaGbiDpqYA1jHa0xySWI8BbuQYT8EnnLQsj56-DGaf5qcnDxIxmfy_p6a0_rfaEFya0O6wyTeqq9k7H7kCfDp4SO87ir9wihzZgodvpWiaYIBLCOQVb95BS6Y7ED3tlEObPTAZmtQjhW1ZScqCKVJMMg=s2673" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2673" data-original-width="1840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUe524W8vx2S5Z6EC6ilFiCF2EV95MgIjkSxCaGbiDpqYA1jHa0xySWI8BbuQYT8EnnLQsj56-DGaf5qcnDxIxmfy_p6a0_rfaEFya0O6wyTeqq9k7H7kCfDp4SO87ir9wihzZgodvpWiaYIBLCOQVb95BS6Y7ED3tlEObPTAZmtQjhW1ZScqCKVJMMg=s320" width="220" /></a></div><p><span>The German girl / Armando Lucas Correa. </span></p><p><span>A moving fictionalised account, very appropriate around World Holocaust Day, of the Voyage of the Damned - an attempt by Jewish refugees to leave Germany on a gigantic cruise liner for the Americas on the eve of war. Arriving at Havana which was meant to be a transit point for the US and Canada, most were turned away. They were also then rejected by the States and Canada.</span></p><p><span>The ship's captain, Schroder, who was later acknowledged as Righteous among the Gentiles, was forced to turn back to Europe, still trying to desperately find somewhere for his passengers to safely disembark. 287 made it to the UK and were saved. The others found a haven in continental Europe, till their countries were invaded. Many vanished into the night and fog of the Holocaust.</span></p><p>Correa weaves a story around this central historical point with parallel tales of loss and redemption.</p><p>22. An unlikely detective
</p><p>The Thursday Murder Club / Richard Osman.</p><p>A quartet of unlikely detectives as a group of OAPs living in a retirement village take on cold cases. Great fun, but also a solid mystery which is satisfyingly wrapped up. Astoundingly high body count, but done with such changes panache you can't help but enjoy it.</p><p>23. Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name
</p><p><span>Toto among the murderers / Sally J. Morgan</span></p><p>24. Addresses a specific topic
</p><p>Cries from a lost homeland by Guli Francis-Dehqani.</p><p>I think this probably qualifies for this challenge point as it's a meditation for Holy Week.</p><p>25. A wealthy character
</p><p>True crime story / Joseph Knox. Very clever, unusual novel which reads like non-fiction. A major character starts the novel wealthy but is broke but happy by the end, while a minor character who may or may not be implicated in the murder is criminally wealthy. Bit of a slow start to novel but glad I stuck with it.</p><p>26. Has an “Author’s Note”
</p><p>Painted in blood by Ilaria Tuti. Italian detective story with an unusual theme set in the equally unusual and remote Resia Valley (which has now been added to my To Be Visited list). I wasn't entirely convinced by the more mystical parts of the storyline, but I loved the characters from Teresa Battaglia to the tormented and hugely likeable Marini and Battaglia's team of detectives. Strong characters and an enjoyable read.</p><p>27. Includes a map
</p><p>The tribes of Britain by David Miles - with a choice of maps!</p><p>28. Award-winning book from your country
</p><p>Winner of the Romantic novel of the year award 2016 Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey.</p><p>Am not a huge reader of romance but this is a beautiful novel set against the backdrop of the Second World War and a contemporary setting which is part detective story, part romance. It's surprisingly moving and compelling reading.</p><p>29. Over 500 pages long
</p><p>War and peace / Leo Tolstoy. Definitely over 500 pages - over 1000 in my Wordsworth edition, in tiny type. First tried to read this some years ago, and only got a few pages into it. Re-reading it some years later, very glad that I decided to give it another go. A fabulous book that completely gripped me. I thought about it constantly when I wasn't reading it, was moved by the accounts of war (depressingly very little has changed from Tolstoy's day - from the sadness of refugees, mock executions, and the tragedy of ordinary people being over-run by events outside their control). It also contains two new favourite characters - Natasha and Pierre. I adored this book, and was so sorry when I closed the book on the last page. I am going to miss it.</p><p>30. Audiobook is narrated by the author</p><p>Taste by Stanley Tucci. A food memoir. Enjoyed listening to this on my long drive in to work. Has it converted me to audiobooks? No. They're fun to listen to, but it's like watching the film of the book. Nothing to me beats the sensation of actually reading.</p><p>31. Technology-themed</p><p>Was struggling with this theme until I remembered a favourite childhood book The load of unicorn by Cynthia Harnett.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYIif2r68eJZQ6xf90NzGW6fpEtTKdgb3ivbmMqUhcbn-VPEF43pIGJhAfNHYN7-jgYTMcwOaulJ2V9mZrvGf_r4BmraUJpAOnFoL7cZrxZ3FbyOHjRjtPaOJ7EvqKOjGGfk0BcZvz1CR8V6j9QFH_ojfK6Zcf_sT5MCtEolt0m4TE5HrA0ZI35TEoA/s2251/20220610_115404.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1771" data-original-width="2251" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYIif2r68eJZQ6xf90NzGW6fpEtTKdgb3ivbmMqUhcbn-VPEF43pIGJhAfNHYN7-jgYTMcwOaulJ2V9mZrvGf_r4BmraUJpAOnFoL7cZrxZ3FbyOHjRjtPaOJ7EvqKOjGGfk0BcZvz1CR8V6j9QFH_ojfK6Zcf_sT5MCtEolt0m4TE5HrA0ZI35TEoA/s320/20220610_115404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>An adventure story set in 1482 as the new technology printing struggles to find a foothold in England against the resistance of the scriveners' trade. It's a fascinating read and happens to be partly set in Warwickshire where I'm holidaying this weekend.</p><p>32. A book that intimidates you</p><p>Emil und die Detective by Erich Kastner.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5T7ebUewSjAtbTO1IDxvV2AQtt4IUsDnUTU1Fel_fMSvzeCBjc5PWkSzRsAuWMuHbV84w9nD-lLhpdyhYjIgc4yPtSO165UaxLOM0kA7yreuuv7s1fOGYId8CAFbXWUoVWS8Bw0enQuRku535vZ8U_S73y6atPMnE7hIkaHrebeCmD9_5HbULbHC1Yw=s2472" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2472" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5T7ebUewSjAtbTO1IDxvV2AQtt4IUsDnUTU1Fel_fMSvzeCBjc5PWkSzRsAuWMuHbV84w9nD-lLhpdyhYjIgc4yPtSO165UaxLOM0kA7yreuuv7s1fOGYId8CAFbXWUoVWS8Bw0enQuRku535vZ8U_S73y6atPMnE7hIkaHrebeCmD9_5HbULbHC1Yw=s320" width="235" /></a></div><p>I found this a tricky challenge as have never been intimidated by a book. So I got around it by reading Emil and the detectives, which I know and love in translation, in German which I'm learning. I had my trusty English copy to hand to help with translation as well as a very helpful Google app where you can photograph the page and of course a German dictionary.</p><p>What did I learn from the experience? Some wonderful Berlin slang which is missing from the translation (a mouse hook was 1930s slang for a pickpocket). </p><p>The other beauty of reading in another language which you're still getting to grips with, I found, was that I read much slower than usual, and it was because of this I think that it felt more like my original experience of reading the book as a child.</p><p>I had forgotten, for example, that the author makes an appearance as a character, prompting the thought, which I'm sure I would have experienced even more strongly as a child, that perhaps the story really is true.</p><p>Good as my Puffin translation was, it was interesting to see how much was missing or subtly altered in translation. It was such a rich experience to read it in the original tongue even though my German is still at a basic level.</p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">33. A bilingual character</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Nightfall Berlin / Jack Grimwood. A British agent who speaks multiple languages including Russian, English and German.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Great book. One of the best thrillers I've read in some time.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">34. An author’s photo on the back cover</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">All's well that ends well : From dust to resurrection: 40 days with Shakespeare / Peter Graystone</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Due to a Lenten miscalculation I finished my first Lent read a week early. I've thoroughly enjoyed a chapter of this per day as Peter Graystone writes often very movingly about Shakespeare's life and work, and its religious connections. It's an absolutely charming book, never preachy, but gently prompts you to think rather more deeply. I loved it.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxOjozYfNXbPuqWG0j002-ck2TqSRPeTQ6JVD53mORjO78WRLi452n5VGS9YSZD8s49lyC5CE3eC-tpK7tRIwYyNKmv478HnR00iJ6RpXvcddH6TDrCNzDVNdWQJ0pZdqJF-CsDmmOalDY3ncn6jjJ2pOUWbPcH5_US7q8jx-qRt1-Eq4VJhHS-zKw/s2666/20220410_091354.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2666" data-original-width="1668" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxOjozYfNXbPuqWG0j002-ck2TqSRPeTQ6JVD53mORjO78WRLi452n5VGS9YSZD8s49lyC5CE3eC-tpK7tRIwYyNKmv478HnR00iJ6RpXvcddH6TDrCNzDVNdWQJ0pZdqJF-CsDmmOalDY3ncn6jjJ2pOUWbPcH5_US7q8jx-qRt1-Eq4VJhHS-zKw/s320/20220410_091354.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">35. From the villain’s perspective (slight spoiler alert, though it's clear very early on what is going on)</span></div><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">The good son by Jeong You-Jeong</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Chilling psychological thriller by South Korean writer Jeong You-Jeong. This is the first of her books to be translated into English, and it's a compelling, if sometimes disturbing read. Fans of Patricia Highsmith will love it. It's a tough book from which to tear yourself away.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">36. Recommended by a favorite author</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">The private lives of the saints / Janina Ramirez. Recommended by Tom Holland.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">A wonderfully readable history of Britain and, to a lesser extent, Ireland from Roman times to the end of the Anglo-Saxon period told through the lives of British saints. </span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Would heartily recommend it.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">37. Set in a rural area</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Death of an expert witness by P.D. James.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Set mainly in and around Hoggatt's Laboratory, a (fictional) forensic crime lab in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens. The geography, and one incident in particular suggests that it's actually just a few miles from my nearest village, which endears this novel to me.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Ends are not tied quite as neatly together as James' usual novels, but it's still very well done. </span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">38. Don’t judge a book by its cover!</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">A very plain cover for an exceedingly charming book - The diary of a country parson by James Woodforde.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBRVeZXdhbC0RT4OKz6ZSJ-uAJi9rsxiQ8CtuhTCsSYG-LAtjj-ae6aYxYZD2aInsrk18k55RtkDFbKnAgy26kBvQlGRa-hRIv1epxlQ26rE7lFy8k7vm1BxfCtrOw_jQJPkKlDqfjb5S23eVgnRBOcbflWJelsYkOuHBNal0BWgsx7Mn1FsXCnoo_A/s2655/20220701_164428.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2655" data-original-width="1714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBRVeZXdhbC0RT4OKz6ZSJ-uAJi9rsxiQ8CtuhTCsSYG-LAtjj-ae6aYxYZD2aInsrk18k55RtkDFbKnAgy26kBvQlGRa-hRIv1epxlQ26rE7lFy8k7vm1BxfCtrOw_jQJPkKlDqfjb5S23eVgnRBOcbflWJelsYkOuHBNal0BWgsx7Mn1FsXCnoo_A/s320/20220701_164428.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">39. A middle-grade novel</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">A hundred million francs (Le cheval sans tete) by Paul Berna.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Voted by French children as their favourite book when it was first published in the late '50s, "A hundred million francs" hasn't altogether aged well. A new translation would certainly need some sensitive adjustments made to it.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Having said that however there is something very touching about the story of a gang of kids, who are incredibly inclusive despite their different backgrounds, who set out to recover their favourite toy when it accidentally becomes involved in a huge heist.</span></p><p>The novel is funny and poignant. Most of all it 's a testament to enduring friendship. I didn't read this as a child. I had heard of Paul Berna and happened to find his works in a second hand bookshop with a load of other books many of which happened to be favourite childhood reads. I would have loved this as a child, and with the aforementioned caveat would recommend it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xou2cdO_pluZO2v0Tp9GKpM4ZMfcWvxNojM2O7Ed7Kl4r4qqDFrszAW7QcwKx6Nvrk_wv5uC0VrQ-8Aa7aGtZxJxbNayz7Xi6uZkgajFDOc92tu8dP_97n8-rwqWchT-_-d1QkzW27BMoIRphnPxv8HnMj-4LI9fnSCT74X-zkonOEoJVhuUb96OUw/s2187/20220409_114618.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2187" data-original-width="1314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xou2cdO_pluZO2v0Tp9GKpM4ZMfcWvxNojM2O7Ed7Kl4r4qqDFrszAW7QcwKx6Nvrk_wv5uC0VrQ-8Aa7aGtZxJxbNayz7Xi6uZkgajFDOc92tu8dP_97n8-rwqWchT-_-d1QkzW27BMoIRphnPxv8HnMj-4LI9fnSCT74X-zkonOEoJVhuUb96OUw/s320/20220409_114618.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">40. A book with photographs inside</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Fascinating memoir of the author's youth as part of a privileged family in Czarist Russia and their journey into exile following the Revolution. As you'd expect with Nabokov it's beautifully written.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcB39eWNPqnpkd1x9ngqqvIQck2XB59kTqS4J85XQ8XepqPzrAexiA6V4eBOwjkMUtiW7OfMTajdMZxS6hZ_isggOAWbVGeHPKGNg1VTJvLwbdQKiG_nl6oi3ZnpefjrZLWWyz12--EosmwzjkYuf6vup1sOpiOSGH3HrbuIvcif4p0wJ1DO7MmiCng/s2255/20220420_004427.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2255" data-original-width="1338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcB39eWNPqnpkd1x9ngqqvIQck2XB59kTqS4J85XQ8XepqPzrAexiA6V4eBOwjkMUtiW7OfMTajdMZxS6hZ_isggOAWbVGeHPKGNg1VTJvLwbdQKiG_nl6oi3ZnpefjrZLWWyz12--EosmwzjkYuf6vup1sOpiOSGH3HrbuIvcif4p0wJ1DO7MmiCng/s320/20220420_004427.jpg" width="190" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">41. Involves a second chance</span></p><p>Cobbler's Dream by Monica Dickens.</p><p>This was the original novel that the 1970s children's series Follyfoot was based on. This is rather more grown up though, and is a touching and sometimes shocking novel about a home for rescued horses. Lots of second chances feature here both for the horses and for the staff of the rescue centre.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HkLEfAdIoKrvvGCblqCH6fxlZx7OjKkWeLW84x6UlC0NyYDKQxODf6DL4VN65Y8rqUZfV7xwLaCVion-G2xZZrhXJ6i02GgK82N7Aj-oxjeIJyWwiTrK-y4-zY8HQpM0uKQ57pukwAv7m-uWCNKHw3uQSdTadRiyoSVd0OrO2Z8DS4c55wUFluCE1w/s2488/20220421_212743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2488" data-original-width="1567" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HkLEfAdIoKrvvGCblqCH6fxlZx7OjKkWeLW84x6UlC0NyYDKQxODf6DL4VN65Y8rqUZfV7xwLaCVion-G2xZZrhXJ6i02GgK82N7Aj-oxjeIJyWwiTrK-y4-zY8HQpM0uKQ57pukwAv7m-uWCNKHw3uQSdTadRiyoSVd0OrO2Z8DS4c55wUFluCE1w/s320/20220421_212743.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">42. An indie read</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Lost voyage by Pauline Rowson published by independent publishers Severn House. It's always lovely when you find a new author who you know you are going to love. A good old fashioned thriller set at sea and on the south coast of England. Really enjoyable. Will be reading more.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQHfGTLF3XjEZG90MSxW0XHLCG6IbOTwR52VXSWprVR3XqfYXgeTmWgiJxs40XpHyioSEX_H1tKxbRh4dmXB2LxfxN4-JEhKlSYl56UEK8BH0viVrs1bxXyK8-pwnm0w7aWCRbj9e1UY4kYwfL_DjtvkwsqmhyoXnkrcH712wfwJqJEcMLkMyZRPPEQ/s2183/20220402_173628.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2183" data-original-width="1386" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQHfGTLF3XjEZG90MSxW0XHLCG6IbOTwR52VXSWprVR3XqfYXgeTmWgiJxs40XpHyioSEX_H1tKxbRh4dmXB2LxfxN4-JEhKlSYl56UEK8BH0viVrs1bxXyK8-pwnm0w7aWCRbj9e1UY4kYwfL_DjtvkwsqmhyoXnkrcH712wfwJqJEcMLkMyZRPPEQ/s320/20220402_173628.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">43. Author who’s published in more than one genre</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">April in Spain by John Banville. An excellent crime novel by an author who's better known as a writer of literary fiction.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">44. An anthology</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eight ghosts : the English Heritage book of new ghost stories.</span></span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brilliant selection of specially commissioned stories each set at an English Heritage property. I especially loved Mark Haddon's tale set in York's nuclear bunker (though it was more sci-fi than ghost), the vindictive ghost of Kamila Shamsi and the eeriness of Sarah Perry's tale. They were all excellent however and there was also a fascinating afterword with a potted history of the changing fashions of British ghost stories.</span></span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">45. A book with illustrated people on cover</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">The book of Margery Kempe, edited by Lynn Staley.</span></p><p>Margery may have been slightly nutty, but I was filled with admiration as she navigates her way across Europe on a succession of pilgrimages, deals expertly with misogyny, and avoids accusations of heresy. She may have been occasionally very annoying, but she also has a very kind heart, that embraces the whole world and wants to think good of everyone.</p><p>My illustrated people are from a stained glass window.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUf1hEkQvkYlK7vW7Ap6lbKcW4ueMq2VmwILZ8R-YM3ss_wdH9peNBmO4Xo90cJqJZzfAbXx_B42X19rdpHEbiUjBLocYxMxJN3bm4qqBrWprkucvX4N6zM6OYyq5oAk6ODJyw3zIhBPSeVHQXqQMEFRINLyZZhRya5N7YlHj32CpL9x0Q29IdXlyUAw=s3107" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3107" data-original-width="1809" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUf1hEkQvkYlK7vW7Ap6lbKcW4ueMq2VmwILZ8R-YM3ss_wdH9peNBmO4Xo90cJqJZzfAbXx_B42X19rdpHEbiUjBLocYxMxJN3bm4qqBrWprkucvX4N6zM6OYyq5oAk6ODJyw3zIhBPSeVHQXqQMEFRINLyZZhRya5N7YlHj32CpL9x0Q29IdXlyUAw=s320" width="186" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">46. A job title in the title</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The companion by Sarah Dunnakey. Enjoyable if flawed mystery. As the companion of the title becomes a companion thanks to what can only be described as a job advert, it fitted his challenge perfectly.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSdXg8vtEN18OVbYbDMHJEodvUQwvV2bZ1_YGSzMZOrIjytpFgyZNrcfyqCdyv-uzFiQ52p5EansQjZE-Xew29p-PfjG_R_wrqGvsH2oudpFPvHw_lqDatRafcUKl0q1AMt46Uq5bpvnGHWsJzmXxhrJVWs3I8R7veikyZimhkkiCHOnAEfxH9AmJMQ/s2331/20220331_210450.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2331" data-original-width="1482" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSdXg8vtEN18OVbYbDMHJEodvUQwvV2bZ1_YGSzMZOrIjytpFgyZNrcfyqCdyv-uzFiQ52p5EansQjZE-Xew29p-PfjG_R_wrqGvsH2oudpFPvHw_lqDatRafcUKl0q1AMt46Uq5bpvnGHWsJzmXxhrJVWs3I8R7veikyZimhkkiCHOnAEfxH9AmJMQ/s320/20220331_210450.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">47. Read during the month of November. </span>The murder of Harriet Monckton / Elizabeth Haynes</p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">First read of the month - a superb murder mystery based on a real life unsolved crime. Clever stuff by Elizabeth Haynes, though I feel sorry for any real life, albeit long dead protagonists who may have been unjustly accused.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">48. Re-do one of this year’s prompts but with a different genre</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">The corset by Laura Purcell. </span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Am re-doing Challenge 10 Based on a real person. Challenge 10 was a children's / YA novel, while this is a historical crime novel with a supernatural twist. Three of the figures at the heart of the story are based on real people and a horrible crime recorded in the Newgate calendar.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">The novel itself is very clever, extremely well written, but also, personally, I found it oddly repulsive. I guess that may be in part due to the power of the writing.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEvHlQeCXZA5Q8fbh6VpOQyvGwo7BNNQXxYqLEWtdbG53T5zgi7dC7PFqScuQlXD7w7aqrYB4Aq8ppN7DO_UICcS7mWwKicVAIEdFlxGnW-gN_3dwlfqAgAxsNPi9qEV0geCR_pF2YzyQhs8-wP5vvlZrplL4o9pVfIfzFBckcf2RLK0mypTZoeB3Q/s2209/20220407_233346.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2209" data-original-width="1464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEvHlQeCXZA5Q8fbh6VpOQyvGwo7BNNQXxYqLEWtdbG53T5zgi7dC7PFqScuQlXD7w7aqrYB4Aq8ppN7DO_UICcS7mWwKicVAIEdFlxGnW-gN_3dwlfqAgAxsNPi9qEV0geCR_pF2YzyQhs8-wP5vvlZrplL4o9pVfIfzFBckcf2RLK0mypTZoeB3Q/s320/20220407_233346.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">49. Book title starts with the same letter as your first name</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The man in the high castle / Philip K. Dick.</span></span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brilliant piece of science-fiction writing. In turn chilling and funny. Note to self read more Philip K. Dick.</span></span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJd_FkGrKvXNZ5og6KAD8Pt_OD7J_BCTCuNltVbR5kaB_dHSHr75ZczSQ9WQBD-zvvZgMsC91LpC0fTzk1eUytr-5QGV5hx3DB1_dnEcpznx2litZS1yzOceyiyuhrTidyR9NBslVYGA1hw3ktpfEIAsyBWkQHRYqsnWY9scqrtvTgZK9i66SEwcfZHw/s2373/20220523_224016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2373" data-original-width="1446" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJd_FkGrKvXNZ5og6KAD8Pt_OD7J_BCTCuNltVbR5kaB_dHSHr75ZczSQ9WQBD-zvvZgMsC91LpC0fTzk1eUytr-5QGV5hx3DB1_dnEcpznx2litZS1yzOceyiyuhrTidyR9NBslVYGA1hw3ktpfEIAsyBWkQHRYqsnWY9scqrtvTgZK9i66SEwcfZHw/s320/20220523_224016.jpg" width="195" /></a></span></div><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">50. A person of color as the main character</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Girl, woman, other by Bernardine Evaristo. Absolutely wonderful book, which I devoured. How have I never come across this author before. Funny, moving, incredible read.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">51. The word “game” in the title</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry's game / Gerald Seymour</span></span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">52. Published in 2022</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Eight days in May by Volker Ullrich. Previously published in German and in translation in another edition, but my copy was published for the first time in Penguin this year.</span></p><p><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Very readable account of the closing days of the Second World War in Europe told from a German perspective. Fascinating.</span></p>Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-6060219272596730232021-01-04T10:31:00.057+00:002024-02-12T21:51:09.725+00:002021 52 Book Challenge 2021 - COMPLETED<p>This year I'm taking part in the 52 Book Challenge. It sounded like a fun challenge, that would encourage me to widen my reading further. </p><p>More information on the challenge can be found on its Facebook group, and here - https://www.the52book.club/.</p><p>I will add books here usually with brief comments as I complete the challenges.</p><p>1. A book set in a school. </p><p>Trust Jennings by Anthony Buckeridge.</p><p>Loved this series as a child. Describing a 10 year old boy as looking like a yak, still makes me giggle helplessly. They always made me laugh, and evidently continue to do so.</p><p>2. Features a member of the legal profession. </p><p>Two solicitors have walk on parts in Dorothy L. Sayers' Whose Body, the first of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.</p><p>3. A dual timeline - When the curtain falls by Carrie Hope Fletcher. </p><p>Part ghost story, part murder mystery, mainly romance. A fun read, best listened to with show tunes in the background.</p><p>4. An author that is deceased. Cover her face by P.D. James.</p><p>It's been a while since I read P.D. James' very first novel. It doesn't disappoint. Very stylish police procedural. An excellent read.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bWzkCRo13Mo/YLz0jUYfEuI/AAAAAAAAKSU/ZBxJ-foJV0g_VGqHgwnqj7kXLA8H4x17wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20210605_163843.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1241" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bWzkCRo13Mo/YLz0jUYfEuI/AAAAAAAAKSU/ZBxJ-foJV0g_VGqHgwnqj7kXLA8H4x17wCLcBGAsYHQ/w121-h200/20210605_163843.jpg" width="121" /></a></div><br />5. Published by Penguin. My ancient copy of The deceivers by John Masters. Brilliant book, beautifully written. The smell and look of India seeps off the page.<br /><br /><p></p><p>6. A book with a character with the same name as a male relative. </p><p>The pursuit of love by Nancy Mitford.</p><p>In my case this was my childhood name for my much loved cousin, Davey. This is a re-read of an old favourite. It still remains a favourite, gloriously comical - one of the few books that makes me laugh out loud, but a real heart to it too. Wonderful read.</p><p>7. An author with only 1 published book:</p><p>The bell jar by Sylvia Plath. This may be a bit of a cheat - Plath has of course had a lot of poetry published and apparently some children's books (though I've never come across any of them) but this was her only adult novel and the only work of fiction published in her sadly short life.</p><p>It's a wonderful book. Often surprisingly funny in a blackly comic way. </p><p>Reading it you know that the author is an amazing poet, her descriptions are beautifully drawn and it's such powerful writing. It makes me so sad that the depression shortened both Sylvia Plath's life and career. She really was astonishing.</p><p>8. A book that lies within the Dewey 900s category. </p><p>Daniel Defoe's A tour through England and Wales. (Dewey 914.1)</p><p>It's been fascinating to compare Defoe's thoughts on 17th/18th century Britain with the modern country. Much amused to discover that some of the places he complains about re road and traffic problems still feature regularly on my local radio traffic reports. The A14 in Cambridgeshire was a pain even before it became the A14!</p><p>9. Set in a Mediterranean country. Faultline by Robert Goddard, part set in Italy. Brilliant old fashioned thriller with a slightly disappointing ending. Despite that will be reading more Goddard.</p><p>10. Related to the word fire.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A fire forms an important part of the plot. As always with Du Maurier an excellent novel. Absolutely loved this novel, so wish that there had been a sequel, but delighted to realise that there is a sort of prequel, The Glass blowers.</p><p>11. Book with discussion questions inside. Drowning with others by Linda Keir (Kindle edition). Would also work for Title beginning with D, Different POV, set in a school, and different timelines. </p><p dir="ltr">
Generally good mystery, till it took a turn at the end with a disappointing improbable conclusion. Shame as it had all started so well. On the upside, I learned a lot about the US school system.</p><p>12. Title starting with the letter D: Death at The Beggar's Opera by Deryn Lake. This book was a real find. The second novel in a crime series about C18th apothecary, John Rawlings. Beautifully written, with some great period detail. Its description of London is superb. I loved this and look forward to reading more in the series.</p><p>13. Includes an exotic animal : The weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. An enormous supernatural wolf.</p><p>14. Written by an author over 65 when published:</p><p>The mirror and the light / Hilary Mantel. The last instalment of the Thomas Cromwell (Wolf Hall) trilogy and the best. A brilliant, moving book, with astonishing insight and atmosphere.</p><p>15. A book mentioned in another book. John Aubrey's Brief Lives mentioned in my previous read Deliver us from evil.</p><p>Often funny, sometimes shocking (drinking bits of dead bodies. Yeuch!), always entertaining. This was a fascinating read.</p><p>16. A book set before the 17th century. </p><p>I went all the way back to Domitian's Rome with Lindsey Davis' "A Capitol Death". I enjoy her Flavia Albia mysteries, but I miss the gentle humour of the earlier Falco stories.</p><p>17. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vWL2lFUgLE/YGpBBvRgdyI/AAAAAAAAJmA/dlMct-6-c0QMGPh8NpwUKF2Uma1XBza9ACPcBGAsYHg/s4608/20210404_131056.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vWL2lFUgLE/YGpBBvRgdyI/AAAAAAAAJmA/dlMct-6-c0QMGPh8NpwUKF2Uma1XBza9ACPcBGAsYHg/s320/20210404_131056.jpg" /></a></div>A character on the run. Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith. <p></p><p>Multiple characters on the run feature in this, the final volume of the Child 44 trilogy. I enjoyed it but do wish that there had been a more positive ending.</p><p>18. An author with a 9 letter surname, Slow trains to Venice by Tom Chesshyre</p><p>19. A book with a deckled edge. Sweet Thames run softly by Robert Gibbings.</p><p>20. SPOILER ALERT</p><p>Made into a TV series. </p><p>The first of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mystery series - A great deliverance.</p><p>For most of this book, I was going to put this into the 5 star category. Elizabeth George writes really well. Heavily influenced by the great British crime writers of the Golden age of crime, and classic British film (A great deliverance certainly owes something to Night of the Demon) Elizabeth George writes beautifully. She's American but rarely puts a foot wrong when portraying her British cast and backdrop. </p><p>However, some of the characterisation was clunky (it was her first novel!) and the ending was particularly unpleasant. Having read other George's and enjoyed them would like to read more. But a break is definitely needed after A great deliverance.</p><p>21. Book by Kristin Hannah:</p><p>The nightingale.</p><p>Really wasn't looking forward to this challenge. Didn't think Kristin Hannah was an author I would particularly enjoy. Am not really into romance. Embraced the challenge and bought The nightingale which involved the French resistance, a subject that I'm interested in. Yes, the writing was sometimes a little clunky and there was the occasional anachronism but what read. Brilliant story. Thoroughly enjoyed it and would read more Hannah. And the lesson is: Never judge a book before you read it.</p><p>22. A family saga. </p><p>Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' Pack up your troubles, the last in her First World War series about the Hunter family.</p><p>I loved this series and was so sorry to get to the end of it. My only hope is that the characters seem to be nicely lined up for a similar series charting the Home Front of the Second World War. Here's hoping.</p><p>23. An ending that surprises you. </p><p>The hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo.</p><p>A synopsis might read: Everyone dies, gets married, or trains goats. More seriously this was one of the saddest novels I've ever read. The ending was devastating, and not what I had expected from a novel that is certainly treated in popular culture quite light-heartedly. The ending is grim, but it's hard not to love this book.</p><div>24. A book that you think they should read in schools: The constant rabbit by Jasper Fforde. A novel set in a UK in which human sized rabbits co-exist with humans, sounds like a most unlikely novel to be read in school. Yet as well as being extraordinarily clever and well written, its thoughts on what humans do and do not do in the face of racism and xenophobia is guaranteed to provide talking points. A satirical tale that is oddly relevant in today's world.</div><div><br /></div><p>25. A book with multiple character points of view. Gallows Court by Martin Edwards. Good crime story with Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham influences.</p><p>26. An author of colour: At night all blood is black by David Diop. Horrifying yet oddly beautiful account of a Senegalese soldier's descent into madness in the battlefields of the First World War.</p><p>27. First chapter ends on an odd page number. The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne.</p><p>One of the few books that I have tried to read, hated, and then on trying again loved. It's by turns hilarious, and touching. I so wished that Uncle Toby was my relative. Such a gentle, sweet character.</p><p>Other plus of reading this was that it meant that I spent a lot of the last week listening to the music of Charles Avison, mentioned in the novel, which is superb.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K24XKpiJOcs" width="320" youtube-src-id="K24XKpiJOcs"></iframe></div><br /><p>28. Features a historical event you know little about. The possessed : Adventures with Russian books and the people who read them by Elif Batuman.</p><p>A hilarious memoir about Russian books and the people that love them. Skimming through history, travel, and some unfortunate love affairs, this book was an absolute hoot. I loved it. Among the historical events mentioned was the weird tale of Empress Anna Ivanovna's ice palace, which I had never heard of. Russian novels can be strange, but Russian history seems to be a whole lot stranger!</p><p>29. Featuring the environment.</p><p><i>Attention all shipping: a journey around the shipping forecast</i> by Charlie Connelly.</p><p dir="ltr">
A fascinating and entertaining read as the author travels through all of the areas mentioned in the British shipping forecast.</p><p dir="ltr">Inevitably the environment features heavily from storms at sea, to volcanic activity in Iceland, and the tough environment in which many islanders live often right at the edge of the European landmass.</p><p dir="ltr">It's the sort of book where you learn a lot, but you laugh a lot too.</p><p dir="ltr">And it got me listening to Aly Bain, who is one mean fiddler.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUw9vinntGE" width="320" youtube-src-id="jUw9vinntGE"></iframe></div><br /><p dir="ltr">30. Watch out for dragons!</p><p dir="ltr">Dream days by Kenneth Grahame. Features the short story The reluctant dragon.</p><p dir="ltr">31. A book with a similar title to another book.</p><p>The thin man by Dashiell Hammett. Similar to The third man by Graham Greene.</p><p>Gloriously hard-boiled classic American crime fiction. It also happens to be very funny.</p><p>32. Features a character who is selfish.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Some incredibly selfish characters in Balzac's Lost Illusions, not least the hero Lucien Chardon, who sails through life leaving chaos for his nearest and dearest in his wake.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I didn't expect to love this novel as much as I did, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and did hesitate over whether to put it down for the 5 star challenge. Part of the reason I think I enjoyed it so much is that the story involves printing and publishing, and it brought back so many memories of my father's printing business. Funny how books do that to you...</p><p dir="ltr">Incidentally my second hand edition contains a wonderful dedication to "Mick" (hope things improved) from his Dad - "Perhaps it is better to lose one's illusions than to acquire others'..."</p><p>33. A book that features adoption. The legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I really enjoy Yrsa's books, but this was a tough read, her most gruesome novel yet. It's a very clever plot though, and one of the few where I was genuinely surprised when the murderer was revealed.</p><p>34. A book you'd rate 5 stars.</p><p dir="ltr">
Leo the African by Amin Maalouf.</p><p dir="ltr">
I was going to read this for one of the other challenges (would work well for the Mediterranean challenge, as the book ends ON the Med, as well as being set in Spain, Italy, Morocco, and Egypt, all bordering the Med), but Leo the African won my heart. It's a wonderful read based on a true story. The writing is beautiful, and I loved the characters.</p><p dir="ltr">Reading Amin Maalouf is like making a new friend, who you know will be with you for the rest of your life.</p><p>35. Set in a country beginning with the letter S. Although much of the Boys of Everest by Clint Willis takes place in the Himalayas (as you can probably guess from the title), there are also sections set in Switzerland. Discovered much to my surprise that the strange entrance onto the Eiger via a train tunnel which features at the climax to the film "The Eiger Sanction" really does exist and has been used in rescue attempts.</p><p>36. A nameless narrator:</p><p>The turn of the screw by Henry James. Two nameless narrators for the price of one!</p><p>37. An educational read. </p><p>A brief history of everyone who ever lived by Adam Rutherford. </p><p>A fascinating and readable book about genetics, and the collective story of humankind; with some fascinating insights into what makes you "you".</p><p>38. I don't use Bookbub so went for a book that was chosen by someone else for me; and not a book I would normally choose to read.</p><p>The first time I saw you by Emma Cooper. </p><p>It's a romance of the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again variety. Not the sort of book I would have chosen, but I loved it. Inside what should be a simple tale, there are some astonishing truths about the terrible things that can happen in life - Cooper writes very movingly about the impact of domestic violence, and the difficulties of finding healing and being healed. It really is a wonderful read. Highly recommended.</p><p>39. An alternate history. </p><p>Deliver us from evil by Tom Holland. </p><p>If zombies and vampires being responsible for the Great Fire of London isn't an alternative history, I don't know what is!</p><p dir="ltr">
I love Tom Holland's non-fiction, so was intrigued by this. It is an extraordinarily silly novel. Will be sticking to his non-fiction in future.</p><p>40. <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Found via #bookstagram. The summer we ran away by Jenny Oliver.</span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bit of a cheat here as I don't use Instagram much at all. However this book does appear with a <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl q66pz984 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/bookstagram?__eep__=6&__cft__[0]=AZXsVkfBSmkISG2IyCMuj28qyFPec-L-N7ZorjziiC-FqdxvTDT7WiqCOZFjn4OTbvb3QZaistmuvg_cj_e_VToRs072jhOKC81eZr9zJSQZa52ep8I4wpbIABU5MNeCETs&__tn__=*NK-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">#bookstagram</a></span> hashtag (checked after I'd read it). </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Light fun read, a comfy sofa for the brain, and a bit of a relief after the last serious read - Hunchback of Notre Dame.</div><p>41. Endorsement on the cover by an author. The land where lemons grow by Helena Attlee, endorsed by Tom Stoppard, Yotam Ottolenghi, & Deborah Moggach. </p><p>Wonderful evocative read, full of quirky facts, and a strong sense of place.</p><p>42. An epistolary. Dangerous liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos.</p><p>I think I loved finding out more about the author (devoted husband / father, narrowly avoided being executed during the Terror of the French Revolution, keen supporter of women's education) than I did the book itself. </p><p>It's a clever story about some very selfish people. And was reputedly a major factor in the less than pleasant feelings that many of the French people held towards the aristocracy on the eve of the revolution. Unlike the play and film based on the book where the characters were more clearly defined (Madame Merteuil pure evil, Valmont a libertine feeling love for the first time), the book is not as clear - rather like life itself I guess. Madame de Merteuil would have been a very different person, had she been born a man, and able to make her own path in life. Valmont's attitude I found difficult to understand. Was he in love with Presidente de Tourvel or not? I'm still not sure.</p><p>Certainly worth a read. Also interesting as this Penguin edition is the first published edition of Dangerous Liaisons translated by a woman.</p><p>43. <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A character with a pet cat. </span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Kate Atkinson's latest Jackson Brodie mystery "Big Sky". </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In fact there's a plethora of pets in this novel, with no less than 5 dogs (divided equally between heroes and villains), 2 cats belonging to minor characters, and a pony (not to mention the hideous Clucky, a ventriloquist's bird puppet).</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I always enjoy Jackson Brodie, but I think this is one of his very best adventures. Two delightful new characters - Crystal Holroyd, and her stepson Harry, are introduced. Characters have a bit of a habit of reappearing in other Kate Atkinson novels, so I certainly hope that Crystal at least will be back.</div></div><p>44. Features a garden. A mind to murder by P.D. James. </p><p>Bit of a tenuous connection here but an important scene does take place in a garden.</p><p>Have set myself a mini challenge to re-read P.D. James' novels this year. Was surprised to discover that this was one I had never read. Was delighted to discover it.</p><p>45. A coming of age novel: The greengage summer by Rumer Godden. Thoroughly enjoyed this entrancing book, part coming of age story, part crime novel, all of it a love letter to France.</p><p>46. A winner of the National Book Award. As a British reader I've amended this to the winner of a British book award. Meadowland by John Lewis-Stempel. The most beautiful book set in countryside just across the border from where I grew up. Winner of the Wainwright Prize 2015.</p><p>47. Features a character with a disability. Numerous instances in The dollmaker by Nina Allan. For some of the characters their disability has a positive effect on their life, others become monsters or are treated monstrously. It was a good read, but was rather left at the end wondering what the heck was that all about.</p><p>48. A cover with a woman who is facing away. Not just one woman but seven on the cover of Anne de Courcy's Chanel's Riviera. This is a wonderful read. Highly recommended.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zSVqA9zSmdE/YLLAjNCPlFI/AAAAAAAAKMI/BX_OVgSkCCUkDsuV8QgiX2qVliDDW0IEwCPcBGAsYHg/s3961/20210528_145029.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3961" data-original-width="2530" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zSVqA9zSmdE/YLLAjNCPlFI/AAAAAAAAKMI/BX_OVgSkCCUkDsuV8QgiX2qVliDDW0IEwCPcBGAsYHg/w255-h400/20210528_145029.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><p>49. A flavour in the title: Crooked herring by L.C. Tyler. Assuming that herring counts as a flavour, as it has a distinct taste of its own.</p><p>50. A shoe on the cover. Several sets of tiny shoes on this cover- Cathy Bramley's A patchwork family. This was another of the lockdown librarian choices. Enjoyed it though a little bit on the sweet side for me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-332yMHpy12o/YLf3V2O-JSI/AAAAAAAAKOs/RyRl0BZVokwqHmVsiwoXKT45xmR5xmVuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1658/IMG_162266736458F.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1658" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-332yMHpy12o/YLf3V2O-JSI/AAAAAAAAKOs/RyRl0BZVokwqHmVsiwoXKT45xmR5xmVuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_162266736458F.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p>51. Published in 2021: <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">Lev's violin by Helena Attlee. You really wouldn't think that a book about the history of violin making could be so fascinating, but Helena Attlee's beautifully written book is both compelling and oddly moving. Loved it.</span></p><p>52. Re-do a previous challenge. An educational read. Russia by Martin Sixsmith.</p>Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-63900049523488549982020-05-24T17:48:00.002+01:002020-05-24T17:49:22.368+01:00Walking my socks offOver the last week, I've been doing a sponsored walk of 50,000 steps raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind in the Walk Your Socks Off Challenge.<div><br /></div><div>Today I completed it, and am up to 54,693 steps and counting. For those who are unable to follow me on Facebook or Twitter, here's a snapshot of the week. </div><div><br /></div><div>Day 1 of the Guide Dog challenge involved llama socks, views of the Mersey, a walk up Zig-Zag Road (very appropriate while listening to a BBC Sounds spy story), and more healthy options courtesy of a local skate park. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qO0bsOj08qM/XsqgttV-iNI/AAAAAAAAG-8/XiA6WEyGeXgEsl-hS7ksEAxykKsn56SgwCK4BGAsYHg/20200518_132808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qO0bsOj08qM/XsqgttV-iNI/AAAAAAAAG-8/XiA6WEyGeXgEsl-hS7ksEAxykKsn56SgwCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200518_132808.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TSq2cFenu-k/XsqguVXDfqI/AAAAAAAAG_A/JS4NQ7wLAtsvdj8Hov6mZzPuqqAJGmRagCK4BGAsYHg/20200518_145828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TSq2cFenu-k/XsqguVXDfqI/AAAAAAAAG_A/JS4NQ7wLAtsvdj8Hov6mZzPuqqAJGmRagCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200518_145828.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ai5-SKkq-0/Xsqgu8XK8oI/AAAAAAAAG_E/4VSkcp8-mNAyz4ymgyftznnVAnj8KpssgCK4BGAsYHg/20200518_153757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ai5-SKkq-0/Xsqgu8XK8oI/AAAAAAAAG_E/4VSkcp8-mNAyz4ymgyftznnVAnj8KpssgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200518_153757.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyg7sJfimzMPN_863BemO5LyiX-iI1k0lonCmBuutXX5KpWs2EVrNDLeJPC18Lft7lz79kYmMQNpho_zcQGoQI-M3DZtVYClPHzqtKWYyqMu2sZAO5m6eCWw_nJ93tX2cnLv4mFMrrC4/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyg7sJfimzMPN_863BemO5LyiX-iI1k0lonCmBuutXX5KpWs2EVrNDLeJPC18Lft7lz79kYmMQNpho_zcQGoQI-M3DZtVYClPHzqtKWYyqMu2sZAO5m6eCWw_nJ93tX2cnLv4mFMrrC4/s320/20200518_160025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 2. Socks of the day. Fuelled by flamingos, and up to 15,000 steps. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59Z_ugUhTnM/XsqhD8IhQEI/AAAAAAAAG_Q/IkzDs_fchy03yg8VNPmA6j2JhyqzDxGUgCK4BGAsYHg/20200519_173759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59Z_ugUhTnM/XsqhD8IhQEI/AAAAAAAAG_Q/IkzDs_fchy03yg8VNPmA6j2JhyqzDxGUgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200519_173759.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 3 looked like this...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALF2LkgBCqc/XsqhXf2JvVI/AAAAAAAAG_Y/foKqoPaVDj8J2_mqRFiwcJpElGzw3SXzQCK4BGAsYHg/20200520_113327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALF2LkgBCqc/XsqhXf2JvVI/AAAAAAAAG_Y/foKqoPaVDj8J2_mqRFiwcJpElGzw3SXzQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200520_113327.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0hvz0RwfaE/XsqhX5sz5oI/AAAAAAAAG_c/owPa7OUuM4QqQNdt1UBJdZ_RwSx_E_sTgCK4BGAsYHg/20200520_114816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0hvz0RwfaE/XsqhX5sz5oI/AAAAAAAAG_c/owPa7OUuM4QqQNdt1UBJdZ_RwSx_E_sTgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200520_114816.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6CVJP3kUWc/XsqhYkJU-CI/AAAAAAAAG_g/x7EZtLQf4EsLzqkoGcFH715lMMvKi6eDgCK4BGAsYHg/20200520_123723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6CVJP3kUWc/XsqhYkJU-CI/AAAAAAAAG_g/x7EZtLQf4EsLzqkoGcFH715lMMvKi6eDgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200520_123723.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmvkbR4ImmI/XsqhZbKLtQI/AAAAAAAAG_k/78sTscvyCI4R78ir7UJ5KBzJMB-aUGSgACK4BGAsYHg/20200520_123737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmvkbR4ImmI/XsqhZbKLtQI/AAAAAAAAG_k/78sTscvyCI4R78ir7UJ5KBzJMB-aUGSgACK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200520_123737.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Day 4 was powered by sunshine, garden plants gone feral, and some gaily coloured brickwork. 30,000 steps+ and counting.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhFoKmILTGo/XsqiF8eoi5I/AAAAAAAAG_0/XYS8MRdQgucNR_2llhDnzcwmiLNOcbJjACK4BGAsYHg/20200521_133058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhFoKmILTGo/XsqiF8eoi5I/AAAAAAAAG_0/XYS8MRdQgucNR_2llhDnzcwmiLNOcbJjACK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200521_133058.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jFrPEOi7tNk/XsqiGjuE2MI/AAAAAAAAG_4/QNONAKMxqQwCSvXOqzwdMD5dLyFiObjeACK4BGAsYHg/20200521_132255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jFrPEOi7tNk/XsqiGjuE2MI/AAAAAAAAG_4/QNONAKMxqQwCSvXOqzwdMD5dLyFiObjeACK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200521_132255.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9Qia6AtRTc/XsqiHOxRLLI/AAAAAAAAG_8/rt6-pXjcOqY2zPeo_dFz36wVPPc9piuyACK4BGAsYHg/20200521_124703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9Qia6AtRTc/XsqiHOxRLLI/AAAAAAAAG_8/rt6-pXjcOqY2zPeo_dFz36wVPPc9piuyACK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200521_124703.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xR5HYKpfOC0/XsqiHmXPphI/AAAAAAAAHAA/oGWun3kP_MwouRsSUCHHGn2769245QlDwCK4BGAsYHg/20200521_122950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xR5HYKpfOC0/XsqiHmXPphI/AAAAAAAAHAA/oGWun3kP_MwouRsSUCHHGn2769245QlDwCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200521_122950.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LywFUNtkOw/XsqiIOXbx3I/AAAAAAAAHAE/BH0J9U-MvdgoVJUb2Tnx0Tqsj2vHgpgMgCK4BGAsYHg/20200521_122347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LywFUNtkOw/XsqiIOXbx3I/AAAAAAAAHAE/BH0J9U-MvdgoVJUb2Tnx0Tqsj2vHgpgMgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200521_122347.jpg" /></a></div>Day 5 was wind powered, and partly through this stunning park entrance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj5UAKAid-o/XsqisVaH7PI/AAAAAAAAHAM/mVWiKcB0gMggLns9fsyyKsVR3BFoXshxQCK4BGAsYHg/20200522_154956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj5UAKAid-o/XsqisVaH7PI/AAAAAAAAHAM/mVWiKcB0gMggLns9fsyyKsVR3BFoXshxQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200522_154956.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>On Day 6, I met Betty the seal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8YxZ_ftO-AA/Xsqi8wJsScI/AAAAAAAAHAU/2z_P94bH4JwPIJVOLvh4P5YQ5BKSkCFywCK4BGAsYHg/20200523_142059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8YxZ_ftO-AA/Xsqi8wJsScI/AAAAAAAAHAU/2z_P94bH4JwPIJVOLvh4P5YQ5BKSkCFywCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200523_142059.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The final day featured lonely churches and pink flowers. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gk3nMtGylF4/Xsqjq4Wd5PI/AAAAAAAAHAg/SS0WzXmf8QgyoxpvF9zyHVAYSVnwaYsdACK4BGAsYHg/20200524_122211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gk3nMtGylF4/Xsqjq4Wd5PI/AAAAAAAAHAg/SS0WzXmf8QgyoxpvF9zyHVAYSVnwaYsdACK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200524_122211.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMKauyOXHn8/XsqjrdIP8vI/AAAAAAAAHAk/FKfhMc4NPD8oh2hkQ3KED8OzB3gV8f7MgCK4BGAsYHg/20200524_131011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMKauyOXHn8/XsqjrdIP8vI/AAAAAAAAHAk/FKfhMc4NPD8oh2hkQ3KED8OzB3gV8f7MgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200524_131011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-unZJnjlyyfk/XsqjsDJKNFI/AAAAAAAAHAo/EUOr0LYanVYWwCyd-Ood4vkjIPChhGjBgCK4BGAsYHg/20200524_131125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-unZJnjlyyfk/XsqjsDJKNFI/AAAAAAAAHAo/EUOr0LYanVYWwCyd-Ood4vkjIPChhGjBgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200524_131125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XC1VjKkOmW4/Xsqjsl8rDnI/AAAAAAAAHAs/bJSMGQ8h2rc_ZnfWctuakgHRjho42BHxQCK4BGAsYHg/20200524_132332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XC1VjKkOmW4/Xsqjsl8rDnI/AAAAAAAAHAs/bJSMGQ8h2rc_ZnfWctuakgHRjho42BHxQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200524_132332.jpg" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Much to my delight, I smashed the challenge with 54,593 steps and counting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wNHTmtZQVx0/XsqkguI54mI/AAAAAAAAHA0/XlPRk47_qF4m3lZNK9fdPZbr98i2k9ynQCK4BGAsYHg/Screenshot_20200524-141230_Step%2BTracker%2B%2526%2BPedometer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2340" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wNHTmtZQVx0/XsqkguI54mI/AAAAAAAAHA0/XlPRk47_qF4m3lZNK9fdPZbr98i2k9ynQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/Screenshot_20200524-141230_Step%2BTracker%2B%2526%2BPedometer.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Many thanks to all who have contributed so far. It has been much appreciated. The current total stands at £225 (with another £43.75 in Gift Aid). Thank you so much! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you haven't donated, but would like to, go to my Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/walkyoursocksoffindivduals0401</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank you for giving me the sweet smell of sockcess for Guide Dogs. Stay safe and well,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Margaret</div><div><br /></div>Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-43573562566844876562018-08-08T15:05:00.003+01:002018-08-08T15:05:54.193+01:00The birds and the....dinosaursA few months ago I read Steve Brusatte's fascinating book <i>The rise and fall of the dinosaurs. </i>For days following the conclusion of the book I irritated every bird I met by squawking "Dinosaur" accusingly whenever I saw one. I even managed to shut up "Atticus", the finch who nests outside my bedroom window, and who is generally unquashable (we often come nose to beak in the early mornings as he's clearly a morning "person", and I'm.....not).<br />
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There was so much I loved about Brusatte's book. It was scientific, but easily understandable by those who are interested in the subject, but don't know a great deal about it (me!). Most of all, I loved that it told the story of the dinosaurs from a rather different angle. Here you could read not only about the creatures themselves, their evolution and their (apparent) extinction, but also about the then landscape of the earth, the continents that these amazing creatures found themselves living on, the plants they ate, the lives they lived, the brains they had, in such an eerily unfamiliar world to ours.<br />
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Dinosaurs like mammals started small. The mass extinction at the end of the Permian period provided a gap that needed filling (around 96% of life on earth perished), and dinosaurs developed to fit into that gap. They would reign supreme for around 100 million years, diversifying in size, shape and diet, producing some of the largest, and possibly brainiest animals to grace the earth. They covered a wide range of habitats, and were hugely successful, and certainly not the dim, plodding creatures doomed to extinction that I had as a child believed them to be.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JBgQpSvJe-I/W2rm-XU-K3I/AAAAAAAAEqA/EYysUf4cBFUGbQcU-fIvASNQQa03RUi3QCLcBGAs/s1600/diplodocus-1160-discover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1160" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JBgQpSvJe-I/W2rm-XU-K3I/AAAAAAAAEqA/EYysUf4cBFUGbQcU-fIvASNQQa03RUi3QCLcBGAs/s640/diplodocus-1160-discover.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dippy", the Natural History Museum's much-loved diplodocus cast. <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/dippy-on-tour.html" target="_blank">He's now touring the UK</a>.</td></tr>
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Recent scientific research has found out all kinds of interesting things about dinosaurs. It's been known for some time that they are related to birds. In fact it would be fair to say that dinosaurs are NOT extinct, although the land based dinosaurs did indeed perish shortly after an asteroid (or similar) hit the earth, their relatives, the birds, did survive, and are now one of the most successful creatures to currently inhabit the earth, with homes on every continent, and some of the cleverest brains on the planet. A worthy successor to their T-Rex cousins.<br />
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How do we know birds are so closely related? And what does this tell us about dinosaurs? The first clue was in the bone structure with dinosaur feet being closely related to those of birds. More recently it's become clear that dinosaurs had feathers. Interestingly it's now believed that feathers were not initially evolved for flight, it's most likely that their evolution came about in the same way that mammals developed fur - for warmth. As the feathers grew longer (perhaps as part of a mating display?), smaller dinosaurs, perhaps climbing trees to stay out of the way of hunters, found themselves able to glide, and gradually flight developed.<br />
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Another fascinating piece of biology shared by birds and dinosaurs is their clever lungs. Birds don't just get one shot of oxygen as they breathe in, they also get another shot as they breathe out. This leads to a pattern forming on the anatomy near the lungs, which can be seen in dinosaur fossils. These likenesses have also led scientists to think about the general anatomy of dinosaurs - birds' legs are sturdy (just think about the forces on them for landing and taking off), but the upper part of their anatomy is much lighter, helping them to stay airborne, and also to move more briskly on the ground. It's likely that dinosaurs were structured in a similar way, so less the lumbering giants that many believed them to be in the past.<br />
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The close relationship between dinosaurs and birds didn't altogether surprise me. Many years ago I had a much loved green and yellow budgerigar, Lucky, who once beat up the family cat, who was no mean hunter of avian life. The roar from his little beak as he proceeded to attack the cat evoked the spirit of his mighty cousins.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xARX_JSTWoI/W2rk17GV0MI/AAAAAAAAEp0/OFLQ6Bc_SVw_z1TWlmVE9uQB8JwW6USgACLcBGAs/s1600/Room_and_Bird_%252811%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="672" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xARX_JSTWoI/W2rk17GV0MI/AAAAAAAAEp0/OFLQ6Bc_SVw_z1TWlmVE9uQB8JwW6USgACLcBGAs/s320/Room_and_Bird_%252811%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch out, Sylvester - that's a dinosaur in there.</td></tr>
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Jennifer Ackerman's <i>The genius of birds </i>enabled me to look at both dinosaurs and birds from a rather different perspective. Ackerman is a keen birder (as bird-watchers are delightfully known in the USA, where bird-watcher appears to be a derogatory term, unlike in the UK), and her book looks at the development of birds, and, most importantly their brains. Bird-brained has long been a term of abuse - akin to scatter-brained, with no ability to concentrate, and little intelligence. Ackerman reveals that if this is the definition of bird-brained, real birds are most definitely not bird-brained. There are some amazing stories here, not least the way birds learn from each other - when one blue-tit in London discovered how to open a milk bottle, its friends soon followed, and the habit quickly spread across the country, American birds have been observed caching food stores across a wide area, and they virtually always remember where the food has been left, while mockingbirds learn to sing and store a huge fund of tunes within their tiny brains. From phenomenal navigational feats to tool-making, formerly believed to be solely the province of the great apes, birds have awesome abilities. In fact some birds brain power is on a par with tool-making apes or a 3 year old child!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lyanda Lynn Haupt's book, alongside Carmen, her very own pet starling.</td></tr>
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Lyanda Lynn Haupt's perspective was different again. Her charming book <i>Mozart's starling </i>looked at a small episode in Mozart's life - his time spent with a pet starling, and Haupt's own upbringing of a starling chick, Carmen. Much to my surprise, in the USA starlings (an import from the UK) are considered a pest, whereas over here, their increasing rarity is making them something of a delight, I especially enjoy their aerial manoeuvrings when they're "murmurating" over the Fens.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A murmuration of starlings in Fenland Norfolk. Photographed by Jackie Dent.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">In contrast to America, starlings in the UK are on the Red list of endangered birds, and are a protected species. I thoroughly enjoyed Haupt's book about the joys of living with a smart bird, and its connections with music, though I remain unconvinced about its providing inspiration to Mozart (though I am sure that he delighted in his time spent with his feathered friend, birds can be great companions). This is a delightful book however, a mixture of music, bird lore, and a happy life.</span></div>
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Another delightful book, though less serious was the pseudo-historical tale <i><a href="http://www.oxgarth.co.uk/a-dodo-at-oxford.html" target="_blank">A dodo at Oxford</a>, </i>which kept me happily entertained and wishing, very much, that dodos were not extinct - I would love a pet dodo, though I would suspect that they, besides being wonderfully innocent, truly were bird-brained. Thankfully the dodo of this tale fared rather better than the one that ended up in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/apr/20/most-fowl-oxford-dodo-shot-in-the-back-of-the-head" target="_blank">Ashmolean museum</a>, it apparently was shot; the author was evidently quite right not to trust Elias Ashmole! A beautifully created volume aping a C17th volume, this was a joy both to read and to handle. </div>
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And that's it on birds and dinosaurs. For more information on dinosaurs and some superb illustrations have a look at <a href="https://www.newdinosaurs.com/" target="_blank">New Dinosaurs</a>. For more on the bird / dinosaur link there are some helpful pages at the <a href="https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-among-us/" target="_blank">American Museum of Natural History's website</a>.</div>
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-79751503726156933642018-06-04T13:08:00.000+01:002018-06-04T13:49:27.917+01:00Going GeorgianI've always loved history, but have never been a fan of the Georgian period, despite occasionally being seduced by the delights of the <a href="https://georgianera.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">All things Georgian</a> blog. For the last 6 weeks though I seem to have been obsessed with all things Georgian myself.<br />
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It all started with Edward Marston's period mystery <i>Shadow of the hangman. </i>I had read some of <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.com/2016/08/acting-can-seriously-damage-your-health.html" target="_blank">Marston's mysteries set in Tudor England</a>, and enjoyed them, so I was interested to see how he would deal with a later period. It was an enjoyable enough read, with some interesting sidelights on the period - American prisoners of war in Dartmoor jail, bare-knuckle boxing, and an astonishing celebrity culture for those who made it big in the theatre. It was a fun read, but a mixture of thin characterisation, and an unconvincing story-line left me not that eager for more.<br />
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Andrew Taylor's period murder <i>The scent of death, </i>however was completely different and utterly compelling. We're part-way through the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/rebels_redcoats_01.shtml" target="_blank">American War of Independence</a> (also known as the American Revolutionary War), and civil servant, Edward Savill has been sent to New York to sort out reparations and relief for loyalists who have been displaced by the war. Manhattan is in a state of chaos following fire, war, and a refugee crisis; staying at the home of Judge Wintour, Savill soon becomes involved in a murder investigation, that seems to be leading into the heart of the family that he is beginning to love. I loved this stylish mystery, not just for the crime at the centre, which is cleverly plotted, and has a superb Buchanesque denouement, but also for the wonderful portrait of Manhattan at a pivotal point in its history, and for the background to the war. Never before had I seem so clearly that it truly was a civil war, and a vicious one too. A brilliant book recommended both for its crime content and the fabulous period detail. It also has great characterisation and a wonderful sense of place.<br />
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Oddly, although it was written during the Georgian period, there is a timelessness about Jane Austen's <i>Northanger Abbey, </i>that is endearingly engaging. This was the only full-length Austen that I hadn't read, and I was drawn to it, at least partly, by Edward Marston's Gothic storyline, along with listening to a lot of Haydn en route to a trip to Scotland (Haydn always makes me want to read Jane Austen!). It is now my favourite Jane Austen - not surprising really as it's a book about book lovers by a book lover and for book lovers.<br />
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Catherine Morland loves nothing better than a good read, and if it's a creepy Gothic read, all the rage in the period, great! While "in training to be a heroine" she meets the engaging Henry Tilney, another book lover, and my personal would marry Austen hero. Henry invites Catherine back to his not-so-Gothic pile Northanger Abbey, where Catherine frightens herself silly reading Gothic romances. Meanwhile however the romance with Henry runs into trouble, with unfaithful friends, unexpected proposals, and an ogre of a father, who prefers money to happiness. Will love conquer all? Will literature win the day? It's Jane Austen, what do you think - a gloriously sunny read.<br />
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As has been my Georgian tour-de-force, the journals of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03f861w" target="_blank">John Marsh</a>, 1752-1828, edited by <a href="https://www.earlymusicworld.com/" target="_blank">Brian Robins</a>, all 1200 pages of them. John Marsh was a Georgian gentleman; a solicitor by profession, his brothers and father were all in the Royal Navy. What he loved most in life though was music, and thanks to owning land, he had plenty of time to do what he loved, composing (though sadly many of his works are lost), playing, and organising subscription concerts in provincial England - more on this, where I blog wearing my other hat, at <a href="https://musicb3.wordpress.com/2018/05/11/a-box-of-parts/" target="_blank">MusiCB3</a>. He was also heavily involved in church music, and because of this parts of his journals read like an early sketch for the <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.com/search?q=barchester+chronicles" target="_blank">Barchester Chronicles</a>.</i><br />
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It was believed that most of the information relating to the journals was held at <a href="https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0012%2FMS%20Add.7757" target="_blank">Cambridge University Library</a> - a history of John Marsh's life collated from his journals, and the editor had almost completed his work on these, when another 37 volumes, with over 6,000 pages turned up in Huntington Library, California. These turned out to be Marsh's own writings with the CUL version being a heavily edited version put together by Marsh's clergyman son. Brian Robins had long suspected that this might be the case, but nevertheless it must have been very disheartening to be so close to the finishing line, only to find that it was just the start of another literary marathon. Huge kudos to him for continuing with the project; personally I'm very thankful, as this was, without doubt, one of the most absorbing pieces of non-fiction I've ever read.<br />
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If you follow me on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/Benregis1" target="_blank">@Benregis1</a>) or Facebook, or work with me, or happen to be my friend, I have probably driven you nutty over the last fortnight with the latest adventures of John Marsh. All Georgian life is here from the market in saucy songs to hot-air balloonists with get-away horses (Georgian crowds weren't afraid to show their feelings if the entertainment wasn't up to scratch), war with the French and Americans, and political unrest in the country, crazy food prices, a passion for seaside holidays, travel and music, the latest celebrity gossip, and some very odd payments (Marsh was once given an organ stop in exchange for the copyright on his latest work). Births, deaths (including a premature report of Marsh's own!), and marriages, scandal, and generosity. Music making at home, and the burgeoning interest in large-scale music festivals.<br />
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I laughed, I gasped, there was the occasional lump in the throat, I loved it; and was ridiculously pleased to discover an unexpected acknowledgement to me in the second volume of the journals (though sadly I have no memory of the original research). Most of all, I loved Marsh himself, a kindly man, with a fascination for music, the latest scientific advances, and travel. A philanthropist with a seemingly indefatigable store of energy, who adored his family and friends. His journals draw you into his world, and for the period that you are reading it, you too are in Georgian England, worried about the King's health, hoping you're not going to meet with highwaymen, and eagerly unpacking the latest box of organ pipes (Mea culpa - I'm an organist, I just wish that I had Marsh's facility for assembly). It is a great example of how time can make the ordinary extraordinary, and I am going to miss spending time with John Marsh so much...Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-13890429476410089152018-05-28T13:51:00.002+01:002018-05-28T13:55:19.639+01:00Still catching up on catching up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Life's just been busy lately. Busy at work, busy swimming (I'm doing a <a href="https://www.myvirtualmission.com/missions/22215/swim-the-river-usk" target="_blank">virtual swim</a> down the River Usk - currently just past Talybont and heading towards Llangynidr), busy reading, busy with my youngest piano pupil having his first exam in a fortnight's time; so I've got seriously behind on blogging. I've also (as I just discovered) got seriously behind on comments, as I found 18 months worth of comments stashed away in Blogger that I'd never seen before, which I much appreciated - the comments, I mean, not the tardiness of finding them. Special thanks to <a href="http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Clothes in Books</a> for your lovely comments, with honourable mentions to <a href="https://clarechase.com/" target="_blank">Clare Chase</a> and <a href="https://preferreading.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">I Prefer Reading</a>.<br />
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I've been going through a bit of a Georgian patch, and have been driving everyone at work (and probably on FB and <a href="https://twitter.com/Benregis1" target="_blank">Twitter</a>) mad with all things John Marsh related - you can now see my latest tweets in the sidebar of the blog. More on John Marsh and other things Georgian (including <i>Northanger Abbey</i>, the American War of Independence, and murder in Georgian London) anon; but for now, some more catching up...<br />
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In April I read the second volume of the <i>Penguin Book of the British Short Story</i>. Volume I deals with earlier material, and I really must read it, as I thoroughly enjoyed volume 2, which takes us in roughly chronological order from P.G. Wodehouse to Zadie Smith. Generally I prefer novels, but I do love the occasional foray into the short story, not least because I often find them surprisingly different. Authors I love as novelists sometimes fall short, or seem completely different in the context of the short story format, while other novelists, whose novels I haven't enjoyed can fill me with enthusiasm when writing more succinctly. The other joy too of short stories is that they can act as a taster menu for undiscovered authors, who you may want to explore more fully having snacked briefly in an anthology.<br />
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This was very true here. Bookhound regulars will know that I'm a <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=wodehouse" target="_blank">P.G. Wodehouse fan</a>, but his short story <i>The unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court </i>is one of the most peculiar Wodehouse's, I've ever read. Discussing it with a friend, she remarked that it sounded like one of Roald Dahl's <i>Tales of the unexpected, </i>and that's a very good comparison - as unsettling, and blackly comic a tale as you can imagine. Not one, you would have recognised as Wodehouse out of context.<br />
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<a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/pregnant-widow.html" target="_blank">Martin Amis</a>, whose writing I've never really connected with, is stunningly good here with a clever short story <i>Career Move, </i>in which poets are treated like screenwriters, and screenwriters like poets. On the face of it, this seems relatively simple, why hasn't someone thought of doing this before? But the swapping around of two very different genres besides adding comedy, makes you think about the entire world of literature and how it is purveyed. It made me want to read more Amis, and look at him in a rather different way.<br />
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I loved Adam Mars-Jones' <i>Baby clutch, </i>a moving story of living with a terminal illness, and its effect both on the sufferer, and those that love them. Zadie Smith, another author like Martin Amis, that I have struggled with as a novelist, tells a stunning tale of modern day slavery in <i>The embassy of Cambodia, </i>while lesser known authors such as the Welsh author, Alun Lewis, and James Hanley tell of the horror of war, which blackened much of the 20th century. There are also several tales of horror (the short story form of which seems to be a bit of a British speciality), and science-fiction.<br />
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All British life is here from foreign holidays to parent and child relationships, dealing with new technology, and snooping on the next-door neighbours. There really is something here to satisfy any lover of fiction, whether you want to devour it in a few sittings, or have the occasional literary canape.<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-57244686906164523082018-05-03T16:24:00.001+01:002018-05-03T16:27:27.204+01:00TravelsMore catch-ups on recent reads. Eowyn Ivey's novel, <i>To the bright edge of the world</i> is about a journey through Alaska in the early days of exploring the interior of the land. Partly based on a real expedition, it follows both the physical and mental battle of the explorers, and also follows the mental exploration of the leader of the explorer's wife, who left alone at an army base turns to photography, also in its early days. It was beautifully written, and I particularly loved the contemporary correspondence between an archivist and the inheritor of the explorer's correspondence.<br />
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Having said which, much as I enjoyed it, the novel faded from my memory soon after I read it; but this may be because my next travel read was Cherry Apsley-Garrard's astounding book <i>The worst journey in the world,</i> his account of Scott's expedition to the South Pole. Garrard was the youngest member of the party, and it was to haunt his life forever after.<br />
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Garrard was the last person to be chosen to take part in the Expedition. As well as being a close friend of "Birdie" Bowers, who he adored as a friend, looked up to as a father figure, and was inspired by scientifically as a mentor; the main reason Garrard was chosen was for his indefatigable cheerfulness, which would be much needed and tested on this expedition.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial to Cherry Apsley-Garrard,<br />
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The worst journey of Garrard's title wasn't actually the journey to the Pole itself, but his expedition to find a penguin's egg, along with his friend and colleague, Bowers. Bowers was looking for the missing link between dinosaurs and modern-day birds. At the time (I don't know if this is still considered to be true) penguins were believed to be one of the oldest bird species, and the one that was most closely related to its reptilian cousins. Anyone who has seen <i>March of the Penguins</i> will be aware of the extreme conditions in the Antarctic at the time of year that the penguins are laying their eggs, and of the battle that the parents undergo to enable the precious eggs to be hatched. Bowers and Apsley-Garrard battled the elements to try to find a single egg that they could take back to examine the foetus in greater detail.<br />
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On their return, it was miraculous that they both survived, Bowers was selected to join the primary expedition that would go all the way to the South Pole, along with another great friend "Titus" Oates. Unfortunately mainly due to the particularly harsh weather that season, and the loss of a quantity of heating oil, Scott and his party perished not that far away from the home base where Apsley-Garrard and the rest of the team were waiting. Garrard was amongst the party that found and buried the members of the Polar Crew.<br />
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In many ways this was a difficult book to read. It is clear reading Garrard's account that even at the time of the expedition, there was a degree of opposition from the general public to the use of animals on the expedition. I knew that horses had been used extensively, what I hadn't fully realised was how much the horses had suffered on the journey, I was also shocked to discover that built into the plans of the expedition were the death and planned consumption of the horses. The dogs didn't seem to be looked after much better, and I struggled with the cruelty of this.<br />
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There's no denying the courage of the men who took part in the expedition. And it was a unique experience to view such an expedition from an insider's perspective. I loved Apsley-Garrard, whose good nature and kindness shone through. It was an astonishing expedition for someone so young to be involved in; and I'm sorry to say that the enormity of the expedition coupled with the First World War, just as Garrard returned from the Pole was to haunt him for the rest of his life. The young happy boy was never the same again. And yet there is a wonderful optimism about the book despite the sadness at its heart. Garrard is able to make the best of the small things in life, and hold them up in the most difficult times. As he says "If you march your winter journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg."<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-52693990336187852722018-04-21T23:30:00.000+01:002018-04-21T23:30:41.820+01:00ComplicationsGosh, two months without blogging, at least not on Bookhound, though I've been busy <a href="https://musicb3.wordpress.com/?s=MJ" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>. A combination of work and illness meant that I just haven't had time to blog, though (if you've been following <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/p/full-reading-list.html" target="_blank">my reading list</a>) you can see that I was still reading. So a few rapid fire blogs to catch up...<br />
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<i>Damsel in distress </i>by P.G. Wodehouse. First Wodehouse I haven't enjoyed. Thin plot, not particularly funny, and aged very badly. Wodehouse nowhere near his best form, but at least it prompted a film version, any excuse for Fred Astaire...<br />
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Casanova's memoirs had been on my TBR list for a long time. The <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292424/the-story-of-my-life-by-casanova/9780140439151/" target="_blank">Penguin edition</a> that I read was translated by Stephen Sartarelli, who had also translated the previously reviewed <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/travelling-light.html" target="_blank">Journey around my room</a>, </i>and edited by Gilberto Pizzamiglio. Pizzamiglio is evidently very keen to portray Casanova as an educated man of his time, widely travelled, literate, and interested in arts and science - all of which is true - however in doing this the edition has been heavily edited with vast swathes cut out, most notably most of the chunks that formerly made the work an erotic classic. Now, although in one way I don't have a problem with this - I suspect the notches on the bedposts would have got a bit monotonous - it does make some of the book almost incomprehensible, as Casanova is run out of town after town for being a bad influence. If you didn't know the story behind it, it would be even more puzzling than it is.<br />
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It was also a pity that some of the extensive editing meant that characters that had popped up earlier disappeared without trace, even though there was evidence that they had resurfaced later.<br />
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There's plenty to shock in the book, not least the sexualisation of children during the era - and not necessarily by Casanova. Although this is his life, it is very much a mirror of the age, as he reflects on what happens around him.<br />
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However, having said all of this, I loved reading this book. I had forgotten what a completely nutty century the eighteenth century was. When else could you have had an awkward dating moment trying to work out whether your potential date is or is not a castrato? Can you ask or would that be plain tactless? From some very dodgy fraudulent deals involving sorcery to a spell in prison, Venice in all its glory, masonic meetings, and a library in Prague, Casanova's life kept me happily ensconced in the eighteenth century.<br />
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S.J. Parris's <i>Conspiracy </i>is a mystery set in sixteenth century Paris, with the philosopher, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno" target="_blank">Giordano Bruno</a>, resurrected as the detective. It's a decent enough mystery, but I struggled with the use of Bruno as a central character. Rather like my first reading of Nicola Upson's <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/life-as-lived.html" target="_blank">Josephine Tey mysteries</a>, I find it difficult to reconcile a real person melded into the central detective. With Bruno, this was actually rather worse than Tey. I know where Bruno's story ends - a horrible execution, burned at the stake in the Campo dei Fiori in Rome with his tongue chained to stop him talking. I know that writing about him so many years after his death can do no harm, and Parris clearly loves Bruno, but for some reason to me, knowing his ending it just felt wrong. The only way I could read it was to think of Bruno as a completely fictional character, but that didn't feel right either.<br />
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<i>Dead joker </i>by Anne Holt, latest in my read through the Hanne Wilhelmsen canon. As always a very good detective story. Wilhelmsen's personal life comes more to the fore than usual in this novel, and very sad it is too. The most moving so far of the series.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Wales unknown to Giraldus Cambrensis.<br />One of my favourite places - Llyn Brianne</td></tr>
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Gerald of Wales' <i>Itinerary through Wales</i>, and <i>Description of Wales</i> came as a welcome relief after two rather gloomy reads. I'm originally from South Wales, and know the land very well. It was lovely to follow Gerald on his tours around the country finding much that was surprisingly familiar, and an equal amount that was decidedly odd (thoughtful and / or assassinating weasels being a case in point). It has certainly prompted me to think about following Gerald's route through Wales, perhaps on a holiday next year.<br />
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Much to my surprise I hadn't blogged about M.M. Kaye's <i>Death in Cyprus </i>(previously published as <i>Death walked in Cyprus) </i>before, though I have read all of the <i>Death in </i>books, and <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=kaye" target="_blank">blogged on many of them</a>. It's a fairly standard "woman in danger" type story. Young Amanda Derrington is en route to Cyprus for a holiday when a woman is murdered in her cabin on board ship. The holiday in Cyprus proves to be less than relaxing as tensions between the British expats living on the island simmer beneath the surface. But just when Amanda thinks that everything is resolved, the focus of the first murder changes, and she discovers that her own life may be in danger. It's a light, frothy, easy read. I did think that it had been inspired by Mary Stewart's Greece set mysteries <i>My brother, Michael</i> and <i>The Moonspinners</i>, but in fact they were written slightly later, so I suspect she may have been inspired by this novel by M.M. Kaye.<br />
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More anon...<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-2850546145755193002018-02-11T13:25:00.000+00:002018-02-11T13:29:10.177+00:00The weight of lifeMilan Kundera is one of those authors that I've been meaning to read for some time. Somehow or other I managed to miss <i>The unbearable lightness of being </i>when it was published to widespread praise in the 1980s. I did see the film (beautifully shot, but surprisingly unmemorable) - Kundera apparently disliked it so much that he refused to have any other books turned into film.<br />
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I think in the 1980s, it fed into the zeitgeist. The Cold War was at its coldest though an unexpected thaw was imminent. Kundera's story of the Prague Spring in 1968, and its aftermath was also a very human story, melding life and history with philosophy. This may make it sound like a rather chilly distant tale, and you could certainly argue that this chilly distance does feed into the central character of the novel, Tomas; but it is also one of a very small number of novels that has made me laugh out loud and cry.<br />
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The central story is about Tomas, a talented surgeon, who is also a serial philanderer, his wife, Tereza, and their dog, Karenin. The novel follows the family over the course of ten years, through the Prague Spring of 1968, into exile in Switzerland, and back to the totalitarian state that Czechoslovakia had become. Alongside this central storyline, there is the story of another Czech exile, Tomas' long term mistress, Sabina, and her lover in exile, the unhappily married Franz.<br />
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Kundera has been accused of misogyny, but I think this is rather unfair, certainly in the case of this novel. The author isn't aiming here for a romantic ideal, but is looking at life as it often is - imperfectly formed, as we stumble from one mistake to the other with moments of joy in between. Kundera doesn't condone Tomas' philandering, or Tereza's decision to return to a totalitarian state, it is just what it is. And if some of the female characters are portrayed less than kindly (Franz' dreadful wife, Marie-Claude), the men don't fare any better. Overall there are far more "good" female characters in this novel, than there are male.<br />
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If the human characters are sometimes less than fully formed, that may be in part because you are conscious that this is a novel, Kundera steps through the fourth wall to philosophise on the nature of life and writing. Although the situation that Tomas and Tereza are living in is extreme compared to most of us, both in the sociological sense of the regime that they are living in, and the complexities of their daily life together, this novel is not dated. Its themes of living together within the wider community and a relationship are as relevant as ever. The day to day complications of life; a life that despite your best attempts you can never be completely prepared for, for who knows what may happen next, are beautifully described here, for that is what Kundera does brilliantly - his writing is so beautiful.<br />
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Where Kundera really shines though is in the depiction of the relationship between Tomas, Tereza, and their dog, Karenin. Of all the characters in the book, Karenin is the most rounded and well-drawn. His (actually her) very simplicity provides some of the funniest, saddest, and unforgettable moments in the novel.<br />
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Writer, John Banville, reviewed <i>The unbearable lightness of being </i>a while ago for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/may/01/fiction.johnbanville" target="_blank">The Guardian.</a><i> </i>Banville felt that Kundera's writing owed more to authors such as Stendhal, than to fellow Middle-Europeans such as Kafka. Perhaps this is not altogether surprising, at the time of writing the novel Kundera had been living in exile in France for nearly a decade, having seen his books removed from library shelves in Czechoslovakia by order of the state. The author, like his hero, Tomas, had faced exile and the annihilation of his career. Some of the most beautiful moments of descriptive writing could indeed be compared to Stendhal, but, to me, Kundera is undoubtedly Czech. The comic moments especially the laugh out loud ones have a clownish quality that reminded me of a writer such as Hasek, while there are some blackly funny episodes, such as the demise of poor Franz, that shrieked Kafka.<br />
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And yet Kundera has his own voice, and a very beautiful one it is, with magical moments of writing. I loved this novel, I loved Tereza and Karenin, I even loved the humanity and confusion of Tomas. I loved the moments of humour, and those of sadness. In a relatively short novel Kundera encapsulates life, and that, perhaps more than anything is why more than 30 years later, <i>The unbearable lightness of being, </i>despite the changing political face of the world, remains as relevant as ever.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-25508030018481034282018-02-10T12:16:00.000+00:002018-02-10T12:16:19.515+00:00Puzzling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the cover of my latest read. If there was no blurb, which genre do you think this is? Children's fiction? - <i>My friend Flicka </i>perhaps? Or perhaps a romance? Something gentle like <i>The horse whisperer. </i>Or a handbook of equine knowledge - <i>The complete horse care and management. </i>I would be willing to bet that your initial thought would not be a crime novel. And in an odd sort of way this mirrored my thoughts about the novel too. It didn't really work, it doesn't quite fit. Ultimately I don't know what to make of crime writer, Barbara Cleverly. I admire her plotting, there are some great ideas, and some interesting characters, but for some reason it doesn't quite work for me.<br />
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I had completely forgotten that I had read some Cleverly a while ago (you can see the review for <i>The tomb of Zeus <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/bringing-out-dead.html" target="_blank">here.</a>) </i>When I came across a novel by her in my local library, I thought that she was a novelist from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, so ideal for <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/p/this-year-i-discovered-blogs.html" target="_blank">the Vintage Mystery challenge.</a> As I soon realised however Barbara Cleverly is still alive and well (hoorah!) and is another one of the burgeoning number of crime novelists living in and around Cambridge. So although <i>Enter Pale Death </i>fails to qualify for the Vintage Mystery Challenge proper, it does make it into my additional Bronze category. And it's a very odd novel.<br />
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The unfortunately named Lady Truelove (she isn't!) meets an unfortunate end when she tries to befriend a Suffolk Punch, who rejoices in the name of Lucy (short for Lucifer). You know it's going to end badly, and it does. Truelove's husband is a parliamentary high-flyer, he also happens to be the boss and potential lover of Sandilands' own love interest. Sandiland begins to suspect that the death is not misadventure but something rather more sinister. And when he meets up with a local vet who reveals that Lady Truelove had received some incorrect information about horselore that had led to the horse being turned into an efficient murder weapon, his worst suspicions are confirmed. But who is responsible for the death? And is Sandilands' love being set up? Most importantly can any of this be proved?<br />
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<i>Enter Pale Death </i>has a likeable detective in Assistant Commissioner (of Scotland Yard no less) Joe Sandilands. Set in the late '20's / early '30's, there's a nice period feel to the novel; along with one of the most original murder methods that I've ever encountered. But overall I found the novel disappointing, it just didn't hold together.<br />
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I found the novel confusing - lovers in love, who apparently are not in love at all. Murderers who get away with murder (not fair as they are horrid people), murderers who do get away with murder (fair as they are nice people) - the moral conundrums that this raised made me gasp. Characters who seem to change character and relationships from page to page (horribly confusing). A murder method that had to be planned with malice aforethought, but turns out to have come about by chance. And (just in case I wasn't already reeling from confusion) X's love interest seems to have become Y's without missing a beat. The number of times that I flipped back in this novel, completely confused, wondering what I had missed or misunderstood earlier.<br />
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<i>Enter Pale Death </i>is such a frustrating read, there is so much that should be good about it, but it doesn't quite deliver. On the plus side, it does tick off one of the "How" categories in the Bronze section of the Vintage Mystery Challenge - At least 2 deaths by different means.<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-35981324612763375692018-02-03T18:10:00.000+00:002018-02-03T18:17:38.861+00:00J'accuseI've blogged before about the power of fiction in depicting fact. A recent example was Madeleine Thien's story about the effect of the Cultural Revolution on a Chinese family and their friends, <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/do-not-say-we-have-nothing.html" target="_blank">Do not say we have nothing</a>. I think what fiction can do superbly well is to take you into the heart of a situation. Non-fiction cannon give you the facts, occasionally, if the writor's really good it can give you more than that; but fiction at its best can get to the heart of the matter, it can give you the emotion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alfred Dreyfus, painted by Guth for <i>Vanity Fair, </i>1899</td></tr>
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I've been a fan of Robert Harris for a long time. He's always enjoyable, whether he is sending his readers into an alternate version of history, as he did in <i>Fatherland, </i>or creating a fictionalized version of real events, as he did with the life of Cicero in <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-greasy-pole.html" target="_blank">Imperium</a>. <i>An officer and a spy, </i>though, is his best work yet. The re-telling of the Dreyfus case from the point of view of the whistle-blower, who risked his life and career, to see Dreyfus freed is a truly amazing story. Worryingly it is also as relevant as ever.<br />
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The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that rocked France in the early 20th century. Alfred Dreyfus was a career soldier in the French Army. He was happily married, had small children, and no financial worries. He had made few friends among his comrades. This may have been partly due to his character, partly because he had a German accent due to his place of birth in Alsace, something that would have made him less than popular as his country was still recovering from the Franco-Prussian War. It's likely that the main reason why he failed to fit in was that Dreyfus was Jewish.<br />
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His origins and character shouldn't have mattered, but there was a German spy in the French army. When suspicion fell on Dreyfus, the High Command was eager to place the blame on an outsider. Dreyfus was arrested, found guilty of treason, subjected to a humiliating public display of degradation, and was then exiled to Devil's Island, a remote and miniscule islet off the coast of S. America. Dreyfus should have been forgotten...<br />
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...but then Georges Picquart was put in charge of French Intelligence, where he discovered that there was apparently another German spy. Suspicious he started to investigate privately, and realised that Dreyfus had been framed, and that the French Army had sent an innocent man to a death in life, and had no intention of releasing him even though they were fully aware that he was innocent. Ultimately it was Picquart who would become an unlikely whistle-blower, and a true hero.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marie-Georges Picquart,<br />
an unlikely whistle-blower</td></tr>
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I think that what makes Dreyfus' story so horrifying is that it feels so modern - corruption in high places, conspiracy, racism, and prejudice. It also, extraordinarily, reads like a French adventure story by a true master an Alexandre Dumas perhaps, or a Victor Hugo.<br />
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In many ways the story of the Dreyfus Affair is very black and white, there are real villains, who are truly villainous, but even they are out-weighed by the loyalty of Dreyfus' family, the "Dreyfusards", who supported him - most notably Emile Zola and Georges Clemenceau, and the sheer courage of Georges Picquart, who ultimately braved the establishment to put right a wrong.<br />
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There's an uncomfortable end to the story. One of the chief of Dreyfus' persecutors, a consummate anti-Semite would have a descendant who would become involved in "Jewish affairs" in the Vichy government, while Dreyfus' beloved grand-daughter would die in Auschwitz, though I think both her grand-father and Picquart would have been proud that she served in the French Resistance.<br />
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What the Dreyfus case demonstrates is that good doesn't always triumph, and that pride, stupidity and misguided loyalty can lead to dreadful miscarriages of justice, but that there will always be a place and a need for ordinary heroes, who do extraordinary things.<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-37318845775071006442018-01-28T20:25:00.000+00:002018-01-28T20:26:25.735+00:00Revising history<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to classify Thomas Mullen's novel <i>Revisionists. </i>What sort of a book is it? You could say it's fantasy or science fiction, but it's also a story of espionage and a tale of adventure. Although it may be very hard to classify, it's a unique story, brilliantly told, and made me eager to read more from Thomas Mullen.<br />
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<i>Revisionists </i>is set around the present day. The world as usual is war-torn, but is managing against the odds, to stop itself being blown up. Zed has been sent from the future to make sure that history runs its course and that Armageddon is unleashed. In Zed's future world "The Great Conflagration" led to a time of peace throughout the world, but it has come at a cost - history is no more - but, in this apparently perfect world some rebels have found their way back into the past, and are looking for a way to change history, to arrive at a new future which will put away old mistakes while still embracing the past. Zed has been sent to make sure that history will run its course, but love and a former CIA agent are going to get in the way...<br />
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This novel was an unexpected delight. It had all the elements that you would normally enjoy in a fast-paced thriller, or a decent spy-story. Part conspiracy theory, part John Le Carre with a dash of Connie Willis' time travelling, an old fashioned love story, and two likeable if confused heroes. With strong female characters, a great setting, and compelling writing, it's a great read.<br />
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In some ways it reminded me of <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/grim-read.html" target="_blank">A canticle for Leibowitz</a>, the humour is often very similar, and there's often a sad feel to the novel very akin to <i>Canticle. </i>The characters aren't as engaging as they are in Walter M. Miller's book, but this is a stand-up and unusual fantasy read. Well worth a look, if you're into espionage / thrillers, but looking for something a little different.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-10765364399139824602018-01-21T13:53:00.000+00:002018-01-21T13:58:49.011+00:00A taste for death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And we're off - one book down in the <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/p/this-year-i-discovered-blogs.html" target="_blank">Vintage Mystery / Just the facts</a> Challenge. P.D. James' 1986 mystery <i>A taste for death </i>just makes it under the wire for the Silver challenge, and ticks off the death by dagger (or similar implement), in this case the victim's family heirloom cut-throat razor.<br />
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I remember reading this novel when it was first published, and even more than the wonderful Independent TV serializations of James's novels (Roy Marsden will forever be Adam Dalgleish for me, even if the rather more hirsute Martin Shaw is physically closer to James' description), this was the book that got me into P.D. James as a writer. <i>Taste for death </i>was highly praised at the time winning a Silver Dagger (James was beaten by Ruth Rendell), and was nominated for the 1987 Booker Prize. I can understand why it was nominated for the Booker, as the writing, as you would expect with James, is uniformly beautiful.<br />
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It's probably 20 years since I last read the novel, and although I still admire it, it didn't have the same impact this time around. So what's the story?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roy Marsden, the perfect Adam Dalgleish</td></tr>
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Commander Adam Dalgleish is about to become the head of a new task force, who will take over investigations into "sensitive" crimes, principally involving government or other high-ranking officials. Dalgleish has recently met Paul Berowne, a member of Her Majesty's government, who has received a threatening letter. The letter is later leaked to the Press, and suggests that Berowne may have been complicit in some way with the death of his wife and two other women. Although Berowne was indeed connected in some way with all three women, the allegations seem completely unfounded.<br />
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Shortly afterwards Berowne resigns as an MP following a mystical experience in an inner city parish church, a few days later his body will be found there along with a tramp, both with their throats cut. Did Berowne kill the tramp and then commit suicide? Or is Dalgleish investigating a double murder?<br />
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As ever with James, the plotting in terms of the crime itself is admirable, and I loved the detectives - the cool and rather detached Dalgleish, Kate Miskin from a tough background, and Massingham, whose upper-crustness is so thick you'd need a sizeable kitchen knife to cut it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrHiip_qCMo/WmSaCXTNEeI/AAAAAAAAEl0/Mvo5TXC181glAG5WVDz_8fyBw5nQil_2ACLcBGAs/s1600/pd-james-006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrHiip_qCMo/WmSaCXTNEeI/AAAAAAAAEl0/Mvo5TXC181glAG5WVDz_8fyBw5nQil_2ACLcBGAs/s320/pd-james-006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Musing on the size of her advance? P.D. James at home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I also loved the odd moment of pure comedy, especially the crime writing grandmother, who is modelled, I suspect, on James herself - "a buxom grandmother noted for her detective stories, who gazed mournfully at the camera as if deploying either the bloodiness of her craft or the size of her advance."<br />
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But much as I admired the basic plotting, the way in which James ratchets up the tension, and the explosive denouement, which, even if I thought it was rather unlikely, was still compulsive reading, there was something about <i>A taste for death</i> that left me cold.<br />
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Agatha Christie was once accused (by Philip Larkin, I think) of "snobbery with violence". I've always thought that this was a most unfair accusation. Christie was, of course, very much of her time. She was middle-class, she had prejudices, but it's also very noticeable that her detectives are at their most angry when dealing with the deaths of those who are least able to fight back - note the reaction of Miss Marple to the death of a maid, who even in death is mocked.<br />
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If P.D. James's snobbery is less marked in some ways, it's also more insidious. A scion of an upper-class family can be trusted inside a church in a way that a homeless person can't, council estates are dangerous places, and their inhabitants are probably on drugs, living off the state, or both. It is doubly shocking then when murder reaches the upper-classes, and where (horror!) they may even be harbouring the enemy within. There is a warning here that letting lower classes into your home, even as servants, can seriously damage your health. Yes, I am poking fun here a little, but it is also a not unfair view of how class is represented in James.<br />
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A compelling read - undoubtedly, yes - but becoming more dated. Although the crime itself was well constructed, there are anomalies in the book too. For example - How did it become common knowledge that Berowne had some kind of religious conversion? Why did the priest allow him to stay in the church? How did everyone in the house know that he was staying in the church when he hadn't told anyone? What was the importance of the diary (I suspect this may have been one of Hitchcock's McGuffins, except that it didn't even move the plot forward).<br />
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So many threads didn't really hold together. A potentially great read, but flawed.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-40905039175978510612018-01-12T22:21:00.000+00:002018-01-12T22:23:47.882+00:00A very Hitchcockian homageNicola Upson's "Josephine Tey" series has really grown on me. From my initial moment of disquiet at discovering that <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/life-as-lived.html" target="_blank">Two for sorrow</a> </i>was not quite the novel I'd expected it to be, to unadulterated delight in reading <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/long-shadow.html" target="_blank">The death of Lucy Kyte</a>. </i>In both books Upson melds the real life author, <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/resurrection.html" target="_blank">Josephine Tey</a>, with real criminal cases, that lie in the past but affect the present day, blending fact and fiction superbly well together. This was something that Josephine herself was adept at - you only have to read <i>The Franchise Affair, </i>or her superb, user friendly, interpretation of the mystery of Richard III, <i>The daughter of time, </i>to realise this.<br />
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I came across <i>Fear in the sunlight </i>fairly recently in a bargain bucket in, of all places, a garden centre (proof that if you're a bookhound, they will leap out at you in the most unexpected places). I bought it solely on Nicola Upson's name, and the Josephine Tey connection; and it's been sat on my TBR stack ever since. I happened to be leafing through the pile after reading <a href="http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/literature/tbr-pile-say/23046" target="_blank">some positive news</a> for all us TBR types, when I noticed the chapter headings in <i>Fear in the sunlight - </i>The Pleasure Garden, Young and Innocent, Shadow of a Doubt - I'm a huge <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/bio" target="_blank">Hitchcock</a> fan, and realised immediately that these were also titles of Hitchcock films. <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hoMKZOoNcw" target="_blank">The Pleasure Garden</a></i> was his very first feature, way back in the days of silent cinema.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--KD5H63Txcw/WliPRQ6rQTI/AAAAAAAAEk8/h1bq6Mrzwxsz2fvwnTQ3i8ixS6HsSm-yACLcBGAs/s1600/TBR%2Bchunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="960" height="182" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--KD5H63Txcw/WliPRQ6rQTI/AAAAAAAAEk8/h1bq6Mrzwxsz2fvwnTQ3i8ixS6HsSm-yACLcBGAs/s320/TBR%2Bchunk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A work in process - part of my TBR chunks.</td></tr>
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And sure enough, Upson had also wound Alfred Hitchcock, and his wife, the extremely talented, <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/bfi-news/features/will-real-mrs-hitchcock-please-stand-up" target="_blank">Alma Reville</a>, seamlessly into the fabric of a classic crime story. It may have been published recently, but this is a classy vintage read in the best of traditions.<br />
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Josephine Tey and her friends are holidaying in the quirky village of <a href="https://www.portmeirion-village.com/visit/" target="_blank">Portmeirion</a>, where they are celebrating Josephine's 40th birthday. The Hitchcocks are also in town, partly for a holiday, but principally because they are informally auditioning cast and crew for a future film project. Hitchcock also wants to talk to Josephine about adapting her novel <i>A shilling for candles </i>(later filmed as <i>Young and Innocent). </i>Unknown to most of the guests, Hitchcock is planning to play a murderous trick on them, but his game is interrupted when two brutal murders take place, followed (in a scene reminiscent of <i>Vertigo) </i>by a suicide. If Josephine and her friend, Archie Penrose, are not entirely convinced by the murderer's identity, the local police are satisfied. Then, many years later, long after Josephine's death, Penrose, on the verge of retirement, receives some news that will make him revisit the scene of the crime...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2TjdI39qwI/WljnMGoXCDI/AAAAAAAAElM/7JbyqjAuLwcnrOshfK2TfSDd5mM2crCigCLcBGAs/s1600/Portmeirion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="780" height="196" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2TjdI39qwI/WljnMGoXCDI/AAAAAAAAElM/7JbyqjAuLwcnrOshfK2TfSDd5mM2crCigCLcBGAs/s320/Portmeirion.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portmeirion - a surreal place on the coast of Wales</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think that <i>Fear in the sunlight </i>is one of Upson's very best books, I loved the way in which she interweaved several real lives and situations with her, very fictional, murder. In other books in this series, Upson has focused on true crime, letting her fictional (but based on fact) characters deal with fictional crimes which have their roots in the past. There is a similar situation here in that the novel deals with past crimes that come to have an impact on the present and, indeed, the future; where it does differ though dramatically from the other books that I have read in the sequence is that the crime remains resolutely fictional, while many of the characters are only too real. This works surprisingly well, and I found it a very moving book in many ways.<br />
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Tey, in real life, died long before her time - she was just 56. And there is a sadness that permeates this novel, as we move backwards and forwards in time, from a gloriously alive Josephine Tey to Archie, a few years after her death still mourning and missing his friend. It is a novel about loss, the loss of life, the loss of hope, the loss of innocence; a sort of reflection in fact of Hitchcock's title for his adaptation of Josephine's novel.<br />
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I haven't given a spoiler alert for the fact that Josephine is dead by the end of the novel, for it's clear from the beginning as it time-slips around that this has happened, so reader bear with me. I was glad however that I have read the series out of order, as although <i>Fear in the sunlight </i>precedes <i>The death of Lucy Kyte, </i>it feels as though it comes much later. There is a sadness about it that is very reminiscent of other end of series, such as the last Poirot - <i>Curtain, </i>or Miss Marple, <i>Sleeping Murder</i>, both written during the Second World War, and not published till after Agatha Christie's death in the 1970s. There is, I feel, a very genuine sadness in the novel, a sadness not just of an author saying a fond farewell to a much loved character, but of Nicola Upson paying tribute to a fellow author, who she clearly admired (and quite rightly, I think) both as an author and a person.<br />
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I loved this novel. I thought it worked so well on so many levels. A cracking crime story, a homage to a master and mistress of crime, and the inherent sadness also marks a farewell to a different world. That brief period between the wars which marked the Golden Age of detective fiction. An age of highs and lows, from the bright young things of the Roaring 20's to the Depression, an age of enormous developments in the arts - not least the arrival of sound in the cinema, an era that seemed to be on the brink of massive progress only for life to change dramatically again with the advent of facism and war.<br />
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I highly recommend this, but it might be advisable to read it out of order. The time-slip moving between Josephine alive and Josephine dead makes it a tricky one to fit into the wider sequence, but it is, without doubt, one of Nicola Upson's very best books.<br />
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It's also the first book I've completed in my, slightly revamped, version of the <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/p/this-year-i-discovered-blogs.html" target="_blank">Vintage Mystery Challenge</a>, ticking off a character is an author or journalist class in the Bronze (post-1990) category.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-37357634949686861352018-01-08T18:56:00.002+00:002018-01-09T11:02:09.747+00:00The unwomanly face of war<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ji_xPCPVP8/WlO-tfI26oI/AAAAAAAAEkM/tVBd6OJzfm8z2FhG6KoRv9WAAcK5iL9UwCLcBGAs/s1600/Roza_Shanina_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ji_xPCPVP8/WlO-tfI26oI/AAAAAAAAEkM/tVBd6OJzfm8z2FhG6KoRv9WAAcK5iL9UwCLcBGAs/s320/Roza_Shanina_6.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
It was a sombre start to 2018 with Nobel prize winning author, <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chernobyl-prayer.html" target="_blank">Svetlana Alexievich</a>'s first book <i>The unwomanly face of war. </i>It's a grim story - war on the Eastern Front during the Second World War through the memories of the Soviet women who fought and lived through it.<br />
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It is an amazing story of heroism. And a largely unknown one, for the story of these fighting women was largely suppressed under Soviet rule, their story was changed to a male perspective and their lives airbrushed out. There were female sappers who fought and died with their male comrades at Stalingrad, women fighter pilots, women who served in the navy, not just in the traditional roles that you might expect such as nurses or doctors, though many did serve in this capacity, but also in front line fighting roles. And this was usually suppressed in post-war society. Veterans were seen as male, and civilian reactions to ex-female military were often negative.<br />
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They fought bravely, and often in terrible conditions, some of which were due to the lack of recognition of their physical diffences. There are some shocking accounts, for example, of the lack of basic hygiene in relation to the menstrual cycle.<br />
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There is much in Alexievich's interviews that is truly horrifying including the sheer brutality of the war in Eastern Europe. A salutary lesson in the horror that can result when people see other people as less than human.<br />
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It is also desperately sad that these women, most of whom are now dead, received relatively little recognition at the time, although some, such as legendary sniper, Roza Shanina, photographed above, were honoured. Many though were at best forgotten post-war, while some were treated shamefully. Partners captured earlier in the war by the Germans were sometimes condemned to the Gulag upon liberation leaving their families in limbo. Other women, whose health had been ruined by their wartime sufferings received little help or sympathy.<br />
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Alexievich, as ever, does what she does best. She listens, and then build an incredible collage of interviews, interweaving memories, and presenting different points of view seamlessly against each other.<br />
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This isn't an easy book to read. In some ways it reminded me of the recently reviewed <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/carrying-past.html" target="_blank">The things they carried</a>, brutally honest, beautifully written, and completely unforgettable. There is much of horror in this book, but there is also incredible heroism, friendship and loyalty. It is both an examination of the darkest side of the human soul, and what can be the very best of being human.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-89803598984466912017-12-31T19:41:00.001+00:002018-01-02T09:34:22.076+00:00Bookhound review of the year 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XveFftpUM4U/WNaAHlgWWyI/AAAAAAAAEKU/sbnAvMUyMYI9H3frHr4vk1dqOde5X-VMgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Alfie2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XveFftpUM4U/WNaAHlgWWyI/AAAAAAAAEKU/sbnAvMUyMYI9H3frHr4vk1dqOde5X-VMgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Alfie2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
2016 was a particularly horrid year for me, 2017, thankfully, was one of my best years ever - I discovered camping, enjoyed meeting puffins on Skomer and wolves in the Cevennes. I took part in the astonishing <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/one-wacky-walk.html" target="_blank">Trailwalker event</a> as support crew, and was inspired to see the ballet of <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/a-man-on-quest.html" target="_blank">Don Quixote</a>, </i>after finally reading the book.<br />
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It was an exceptionally good year for reading too. I finally managed to smash my To be read challenge finishing 47 books in that category including a few that had been on the shelf for a very long time.<br />
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Altogether this year I read 112 books, of which just 21 were non-fiction. It may have been a small number but they were perfectly formed. Some cracking reads here from the world of the <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/still-human.html" target="_blank">Black Death</a> to a <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/on-map.html" target="_blank">history of map-making</a>, I sipped<a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/freedom-being-and-apricot-cocktails.html" target="_blank"> cocktails with existentialists in Paris</a>, and was moved by the lives of those who perished on <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/lost-lives.html" target="_blank">the Titanic</a>, and the people who risked their lives at the <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chernobyl-prayer.html" target="_blank">Chernobyl reactor</a>, and whose lives were changed forever by the disaster. They were fascinating.<br />
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There were some bumper fiction reads, including the enormous <i>Don Quixote, </i>and the (almost as big) <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/revenge-over-and-under-waves.html" target="_blank">Count of Monte Cristo</a>. </i>Don Quixote became one of my favourite ever characters, and easily wins the 2017 award for "Fictional character I would most like to friend on Facebook."<br />
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I finally got round to reading my first novel in a foreign language. Suitably enough it was a Maigret mystery. In addition to this I also read 16 novels in translation ranging from Scandi-noir to memories of life in war-torn France, and a wonderful innocent amble around London with a gentle <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/a-literary-trio.html" target="_blank">Chinese artist</a>.<br />
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I'm not going to give awards this year, but will give honourable mention to my favourite reads. At the start of the year I loved Jonathan Crown's tale of a small dog caught up in a turbulent century, <i>Sirius. </i>Later on I was particularly moved by one of the very best of my non-fiction reads, M.T. Anderson's non-fiction work for young people following the life of Russian composer, <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/life-out-of-city-of-dead.html" target="_blank">Dmitri Shostakovich</a>, and the events leading up to the premiere of his Leningrad symphony. It was an extraordinarily moving story told simply but beautifully. Julian Barnes' novel based on the life of Shostakovich, <i>The noise of time, </i>was also extraordinary, but there was a simplicity about Anderson's writing, that made it a compelling read.<br />
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<i>Master and Margarita </i>remains one of my favourite books, read this year in yet another translation. I also loved the aforementioned <i>Don Quixote. </i>This was one of those books that I thought I should read but didn't expect to love. It's a wonderful book, and if you haven't read it yet, you should do. It may have been written 400 years ago, but it feels in many ways very modern. I loved the Don and his faithful servant, Sancho Panza in an often very funny tale of love, loyalty and adventure.<br />
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Jules Verne was another happy find in 2017, and became the author I'd most like to invite to dinner. Among non-fiction reads <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/dying.html" target="_blank">When breath becomes air</a> </i>was one of the year's most memorable reads - the story of a promising young surgeon's struggle with cancer. It became especially important later in the year when I received some very sad news about an old friend.<br />
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Books are about life, and this year there have been books about life and death, of love and loss, of music, and dancing, adventure and horror. And I seem to have read them all in 2017. May 2018 be as good. A very Happy New Year to you.<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-55750033268062899052017-12-31T17:46:00.000+00:002017-12-31T17:46:56.735+00:00On the mapI loved Simon Garfield's history of map making <i>On the map. </i>It sounds as though it would be a rather dry read, but in fact it's anything but. It's a glorious tale of adventure in unknown lands with a few truly loopy characters, and a history of map making that carries through to the present day.<br />
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From the joys and perils of sat-nav to the highs and lows of early map-making, which occasionally, and bizarrely, had many of the same problems. Did you know, for instance, that due to an early known error on a map of the New World, many mariners gamely tried to sail around California, convinced it was an island "because the map said so".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVvo8iDznvE/WkkiFmNNZXI/AAAAAAAAEjk/hzVx7bluHUgiCg8hpGEJIls5JBWL-4wsQCLcBGAs/s1600/th%2B%25282%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="474" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVvo8iDznvE/WkkiFmNNZXI/AAAAAAAAEjk/hzVx7bluHUgiCg8hpGEJIls5JBWL-4wsQCLcBGAs/s320/th%2B%25282%2529.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost in California? You'll have problems finding the eastern passage though...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's much that intrigues in this refreshing guide to how maps made the world. And there's much that surprised here - both the Arctic and Antarctic circles were mapped at least roughly much earlier than you might expect, though the South Pole was only mapped properly relatively recently.<br />
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Maps could make empires, as the enormous British project to map India proved, and map makers continue to be enormously influential today even when their lives are unfamiliar to us - the Cassini mission to map Saturn was named after the Italian-French astronomer, Cassini, who was also the first of his family to engage in a massive project to map France.<br />
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Garfield combines history, travel and humour in an irresistible mix. A compelling, absorbing read.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-72798855809910484832017-12-31T12:22:00.000+00:002017-12-31T12:22:58.626+00:00Carrying the past<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--wlU1y7UUFc/WkjV9kmOq3I/AAAAAAAAEjU/vUfulLaCP6s2i5kPesAhgooRD1UCmIUTgCLcBGAs/s1600/4958871361_070210c434_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1024" height="209" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--wlU1y7UUFc/WkjV9kmOq3I/AAAAAAAAEjU/vUfulLaCP6s2i5kPesAhgooRD1UCmIUTgCLcBGAs/s320/4958871361_070210c434_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I came across Tim O'Brien by accident. I've recently been watching a series on BBC Four about the Vietnam War. Directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, it's been an enthralling documentary, which reminded me of one of the other great history documentaries series, <i>The world at war. The Vietnam war </i>included interviews with people caught up on both sides of the conflict - the soldiers on both sides, the civilians whose lives were impacted by the war, along with reportage of the period, an iconic soundtrack, and a history that didn't just examine the war but also its long roots in French colonial history, and the current relationship between the old enemies.<br />
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Vietnam is a war that I both know about, and also one that I actually know very little. I was born in the mid-sixties, and when I think back to the news that I saw as a child, two things predominate - the excitement of the space race, and the incomprehensible savagery of Vietnam. I have odd blurred images from the late '60's, and then a few more distinct images of the fall of Saigon. This documentary did a wonderful job of filling the gaps in my knowledge, although I still think (with the greatest of respect for those who fought bravely there) that it must rate as one of the most pointless bloodiest wars ever. Which brings me to Tim O'Brien.<br />
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O'Brien was one of the Vietnam veterans, who was interviewed for the documentary. I knew I knew his name from somewhere, and finally realised as he read from his book <i>The things they carried, </i>that he was a writer. Not only is he a writer, he is a writer of great beauty, which makes a stunning contrast to his subject matter. <i>The things they carried </i>can be read as a set of short stories on a shared subject, or as a somewhat disjointed novel. Semi-autobiographical, it follows a company of men in the US army fighting in Vietnam, and the subsequent lives and impact of the war on those who survived - one of them happens to be called Tim O'Brien.<br />
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This is no glorification of war, <i>The things they carried </i>is, at times, incomprehensibly brutal. The savagery and evil of war has seldom been as well described, but O'Brien is also a writer of great beauty, and through his words, humanity also shines through along with moments of the blackest inhumanity.<br />
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This isn't just a book about war though, it's also a book about the power of writing and literature. The way in which through the work of an author that moment can be changed, that life resurrected, a point in time changed forever to what you would have liked it to have been, if only....<br />
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O'Brien takes his reader to an unforgettable place. A place that would show the extremes of human nature. It's a memoir of the worst side of human nature, and the dangers of seeing your fellow man as "other". But it's also a story of comradeship, redemption and love. And of the power of human beings to build bridges across divides in the most unlikely places. Most of all it's about the magical power of literature which brings the dead to life.<br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-59545863506008629452017-12-23T17:13:00.001+00:002017-12-23T17:13:51.520+00:00A stranger's house<h4>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: normal;">Some time ago I reviewed my friend Clare's first mystery novel, <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/starting-anew.html" target="_blank">You think you know me</a>. </i>It's been a while but despite the best efforts of <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/someone-like-you.html" target="_blank">Korean speaking tablets,</a> I finally got round to reading <i>A stranger's house, </i>Clare Chase's second crime novel, and the first in a series about former private detective, Nate Bastable, and his new assistant, Ruby Fawcett.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: normal;">Ruby<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUMc7NLeRSA/Wj6OUfzGe-I/AAAAAAAAEi8/Y-UA4ZDg1IQV6TD623Z02Kcn5l5-jFUuQCLcBGAs/s1600/th%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUMc7NLeRSA/Wj6OUfzGe-I/AAAAAAAAEi8/Y-UA4ZDg1IQV6TD623Z02Kcn5l5-jFUuQCLcBGAs/s1600/th%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midsummer Common on a less sinister day</td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal;"> finds herself unexpectedly looking for a new job and a place to live following a turbulent and sudden end to a relationship. Nate has a successful house-sitting business, and it seems the perfect option until Ruby can sort her life out. The new job in Cambridge seems simple enough, but then Ruby discovers that there's a very nasty side to her client, so it really shouldn't be a surprise when he is murdered. Ruby begins to get the feeling though that this murderer is rather close to home...</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As regular readers of Bookhound will know, I'm a fan of books set in places I know well, and this addition to my already considerable series of <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Cambridge+crime" target="_blank">"Death in Cambridge"</a> is very welcome. The Cambridge setting is great and works really well as the backdrop to the mystery. This isn't crime at its grittiest, but it does expose another face to Cambridge that the casual visitor usually misses.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The story is told both from Ruby and from Nate's viewpoint, this could be potentially quite confusing, but Clare deals with it adroitly, I never forgot whose head I was in. And actually it was a really clever idea, as it revealed Nate's character more quickly and intimately than would have been the case had the whole story been told from Ruby's point of view. It also made a pleasant change from the usual "woman in danger" style novel, which tends to be carried completely by the central character.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />The denouement was great fun and I'm very much looking forward to the next novel in the series, and the development of the relationship between Nate and Ruby.</span></span><br />
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<br />Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-13056986921332131522017-12-10T17:29:00.000+00:002017-12-13T13:40:24.346+00:00Genesis of a crime loverDo you ever find yourself wondering why you love the books that you do? I was thinking about this last year, and found myself reviving some favourite reading memories. I guess you become a reader, or a football fan, or a painter partly because that's just you as an individual. There's something in you that responds to that particular hobby. Then there's the enthusiasm perhaps of someone who was close to you as a child that fuelled that spark - my Mum loved books. She would read just about anything but was especially keen on old fashioned romances. With the exception of <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/old-time-religion.html" target="_blank">Elizabeth Goudge</a>, that wasn't a taste that we shared.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mum and Dad on their wedding day</td></tr>
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But some of my happiest childhood memories revolve around books and Mum. Long before I even started school, we'd cuddle up on the sofa mid-morning with a hot milk and a biscuit. Mum would listen to her favourite radio soap (I seem to remember it was a long forgotten show called <i>Waggoner's walk, </i>which she loved). Then she'd open a storybook and read to me following the words with her finger as she did so, then at 11, it was time for <i>Listen with Mother, </i>which was never ever so good as my real listening and reading with my mother.<br />
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We read out way through pop-up stories of Grimms' fairy tales (I found <i>Hansel and Gretel </i>particularly terrifying). I adored the Arabian nights and spent many a happy Sunday afternoon trying to persuade my Great-Uncle's real Persian rug to fly. There was a series about the author's naughty little sister, which my Mum loved, and a beautifully illustrated copy of <i>Black Beauty </i>which led to us both sitting sobbing on the sofa. There was <i>Struwwelpeter, </i>which we both hated, <i>Alice in Wonderland, </i>and Lambs' <i>Tales from Shakespeare </i>(I loved it, but Mum was never a Shakespeare fan). Most of all though there was Enid Blyton - lots and lots of Enid Blyton. Oddly enough, I think she's the author who was most responsible for my love of crime fiction. It started with a book I inherited from my cousin...<br />
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Enid Blyton is well known for her children's mystery series, most notably the Secret Seven and the Famous Five (who have been brilliantly <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-are-all-grown-up.html" target="_blank">lampooned </a>recently). She also wrote quite a few standalone mysteries, but the series that really captured my heart, starting with that very first mystery from my beloved cousin, Dave, was the "R" mystery series, also sometimes known as the Barney mysteries. I started reading them again last year - the first time I've ever read them in sequence. And I was surprised both by how well many of them stood up as mysteries, but also by how unlike they were to the standard impression of Enid Blyton. The children still enjoyed their adventures, and there were picnics, and good weather, and one of the best ever portrayals of a spaniel in any fiction (I suspect Blyton may hold some responsibility for that passion too), but these weren't just posh school kids, there's an underlying reality here that's rather different from what you might expect.<br />
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The first novel in the series, <i>The Rockingdown Mystery, </i>introduces you to the central characters. Roger and Diana Linton are happy if rather serious children, away at boarding school for much of the year, back at home for the holidays with a nice middle-class life, Mum, Dad and a couple of servants who adore the children. So far, so Blyton. But then their cousin, Snubby, is thrown into the mix - naughty and irrepressible - with his beloved dog, Looney, Snubby is an orphan, who is passed around between his relations. Looney is the only true constant in his life.<br />
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It struck me reading this so many years later, that I had never wondered what had happened to Snubby's parents. Indeed, unlike <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/just-magic.html" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a>, who is at least given a false story of his parents' demise, nothing more is said about Snubby's background. But it also struck me that it is treated as though it's a common thing, and the timing of the publication is vital here, as Blyton was writing just a few years after the war. Snubby's parents must surely have perished in the conflict.<br />
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The three cousins are together for the holidays, when a travelling fair brings adventures and a new friend in a fairground boy, Barney, and his pet monkey, Miranda. Barney's mother, who was also a fairground artist is dead, it also becomes very clear to an adult reader that Barney is illegitimate, and is now desperately trying to find the father who he thought was dead, and is unaware of his son's existence. The mystery of Barney's father underlies the first four novels in the series until they are reunited in the fourth book.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gift from my cousin</td></tr>
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All six stories are fun children's mysteries, but they also do what good crime fiction always does superbly, albeit at a more simplistic level. There is social commentary here too, on loss and grief and coping, on child exploitation and cruelty, on discrimination and acceptance. Perhaps, I always had some awareness that these stories had a greater depth to them, or perhaps it was just like any good story, they drew me in and kept me there. It was perhaps inevitable that the <i>Rockingdown, Rilloby Fair, Rubadub, Ring o'bells, Rat-a-tat </i>and <i>Ragamuffin </i>mysteries prepared the way for one of my favourite childhood mysteries <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/lets-hear-it-for-puffin.html" target="_blank">"The young detectives"</a>, </i>and then, one day, I discovered the only fiction book that my grandfather (another great reader) possessed - <i>Sparkling cyanide </i>by Agatha Christie. And many Dorothy L.Sayers, P.D. James, Kathy Reichs etc etc later, the rest is history.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-88993040125036719362017-12-10T16:03:00.000+00:002017-12-10T16:08:17.479+00:00John Le Carre Chronological Challenge 5I seem to have got a bit behind with my John Le Carre Chronological Challenge, this year, after <a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=John+le+carre+chronological" target="_blank">reading his first 4 novels</a> in quick succession at the start of the year. So finally we're on to novel 5 - <i>A small town in Germany.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonn, a "small town in Germany"</td></tr>
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The small town of the title is Bonn, the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. A small town that is struggling to come to terms with its new title as the centre of West German federal life. It is the late 1960's. Students are rioting across Europe, the Cold War seems to be at its coldest, politics is becoming polarised, and Britain is in desperate talks to try and join the Common Market. In the midst of the political intrigue, it almost goes unnoticed that a minor functionary in the British Embassy in Bonn has gone missing. There is evidently something suspicious though about his disappearance as Alan Turner, spy catcher extraordinaire, is sent out from London to track down Leo Harting, who, it appears has turned rogue and is on his way to Moscow with British secrets.<br />
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Turner soon realises however that Harting is not going to be ferrying British secrets to Moscow, but with his old-style politics now well out of fashion, the diplomats are playing a dangerous game as they try to keep the Germans onside, while discarding the past.<br />
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When I reviewed <i>The Looking Glass War </i>in February, I remarked how modern it felt despite being rooted in the Cold War of the '60's. With a fictional imminent entry into war based on the flimsiest of evidence, it felt like an early draft for the Iraq War. I had much the same feelings about <i>A small town in Germany. </i>It felt particularly odd to be reading it as Brexit negotiations stumbled on in the background (I finished the novel just before news broke about agreements on an open Irish border, and European citizens). In <i>Small town in Germany </i>what lies at the heart of the novel is Britain's increasingly desperate attempts to join the Common Market, despite the "Non" of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gaulle_charles_de.shtml" target="_blank">General de Gaulle</a> (which may actually have been a misunderstanding, see Crispin Tickell's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/25/how-britain-negotiated-its-entry-to-the-eec-then-failed-to-play-its-part" target="_blank">recollections</a>).<br />
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The novel shows how fast history moved during the twentieth century as Europe attempted to move away from a war torn century to a more settled and peaceful state. Inevitably though, in what was almost an extended series of peace negotiations the past had to be left behind; but also inevitably this led to some difficult moral conundrums. Can what is in essence unforgivable be forgotten if it is for the greater good? Is it ever right to let the sufferings of those who are unable to speak for themselves go unpunished in order to build a society where that can never happen again? Or is to forget history in order to make a better world, a precursor to it repeating itself?<br />
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In many ways, Le Carre's <i>Small town in Germany </i>has much in common with Frederick Forsyth's <i>The Odessa file. </i>Both deal with new societies and loyalties, while struggling to deal correctly with a horrific past. Forsyth's struggling journalist has more in common with how I think we would like to believe the world to be, but I am sure that Le Carre's "shades of grey" how political expediency really is. This feels wrong, but ultimate!y how else can the world survive with a compromised past without forgetfulness?<br />
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In a world that seems to be changing swiftly, and becoming odder by the day. Le Carre shows that it's nothing new. We're not the first generation to be dealing with compromise and a rapidly changing worldview, and we almost certainly won't be the last. Perhaps instability and compromise is really the norm, the Chinese curse of "interesting times" is just what happens. How you deal with it as an individual though is something quite different...Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-82437967766463579542017-12-06T16:03:00.000+00:002017-12-06T16:12:27.381+00:00Black and blueI've previously read the first two of Ian Rankin's Rebus novels - <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/knots-and-crosses.html" target="_blank">Knots and crosses</a>, </i>and <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/transatlantic-crime.html" target="_blank">Hide and seek</a>. </i>Although I enjoyed both of them, I found them strangely unmemorable. Ian Rankin is undoubtedly a good writer, but neither of these novels gripped me. Then, a few months back, I heard Ian Rankin being <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096jb23" target="_blank">interviewed on Radio 4</a>, looking back at his teenage diaries, and talking about his first steps as a writer. It was fascinating listening, and reminded me again what a great person he seemed to be. So, having decided to read more Rebus, I chanced across <i>Black and blue.</i><br />
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<i>Black and blue </i>was the novel that lifted him from lowly crime writer status to stardom, as it wowed the critics, and won the much valued Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger. It was probably fitting that I should have read <i>Black and blue </i>not that long after finishing Martin Edwards' history of the Detection Club <i><a href="https://the-bookhound.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/back-to-golden-age.html" target="_blank">The Golden Age of Murder</a>, </i>where Edwards revealed that much of the best crime writing from the Golden Age of detective fiction was influenced by real life events<i>. </i>Rankin does this superbly in <i>Black and Blue </i>as Rebus comes face to face with one of the unsolved crimes of the twentieth century- the Bible John murders, that took place in Glasgow in the late '60's, early '70's.<br />
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Rebus currently has his own problems, as he has come under investigation for a suspected miscarriage of justice, his relationship with his daughter has sunk to a new low, and he is drinking more than ever. The suicide of a former colleague looks as though he's going to be left to carry the can for an event that occurred in his early days in the police force. But when a serial killer gets to work in Scotland, Rebus is reminded of earlier crimes. Has Bible John made a comeback, or is this an admirer out to prove a point? As Rebus battles his own demons, an unexpected saviour will appear, his former sidekick, now posted to keep an eye on Rebus. Meanwhile Rebus has his own case to solve, which will involve a visit to oil capital, Aberdeen, and further on to the Shetland Isles, where Rebus becomes aware that the serial killings may actually link to his own case. Could there be a link to the oil industry? Rebus struggles to keep his own life on track while solving cases, and trying to avoid the interest of his nemesis, Chief Inspector Ancram, who may be a good cop turned bad.<br />
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This was such a great read. As might be expected with Rankin, the crime writing is slick, and well plotted. The links with real places and people made the whole story feel real, and Edinburgh comes through as a major character in the work.<br />
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What I especially liked about it though was the character of Rebus himself. Fully formed, vulnerable, and immensely likeable despite his flaws.<br />
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The edition I read, which was the 20th anniversary edition, also had lots of helpful notes including a fascinating foreword by Rankin describing the background to the novel, the anger that impelled him to write it, and some great asides back to his teenage years. I absolutely loved the idea that writing was a way in which his teenage band that had never come to anything could finally emerge into the limelight. There's a refreshing honesty about the novel. It's not just a great crime story, it's a wonderfully well written novel with a redemptive heart. Beautifully written, it's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/20/ian-rankin-family-values" target="_blank">Rankin</a> at his very best.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flying Pigs - Rankin's very own band.</td></tr>
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Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588269916624155352.post-3049963405487815442017-12-03T13:42:00.000+00:002017-12-03T13:46:19.728+00:00Someone like you?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After an argument with my Android, who had decided, for no particular reason to only speak Korean, I had to abandon Clare Chase's thriller <i>A stranger's house </i>(don't worry - there will be a review shortly). I hate it when you have to quit a book partway through, it always makes me feel unsettled, and I often find that the easiest way to cope with it is to look, initially, at a short story anthology. This time I decided to have a look at Roald Dahl's deliciously wicked collection <i>Someone like you.</i><br />
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Many of these stories later found their way into the classic British television series of the '70's / '80's, <i>Tales of the unexpected. </i>They really are a fascinating collection of weird tales, and, as a collection, they are the best of Roald Dahl's short story anthologies.<br />
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They range from the macabre and peculiar to social commentary (most unexpected in what is essentially a horror story), and the best short crime story I've ever read with a most ingenious method for disposing of a murder weapon. As is typical of Dahl there is also a blackly comic twist to many of his stories.<br />
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The 18 short stories are variable. Most can only be described as excellent. The only ones that I didn't like were the <i>Claud's dog </i>quartet which contained more of the gruesome side that is more usual in Dahl's children's story, a facet of Dahl that I have never warmed to.<br />
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The rest though I loved especially the previously mentioned <i>Lamb to the slaughter, </i>and <i>Poison. </i>There is some extraordinarily prescient writing here too. <i>The great automatic grammartiziator </i>looks to a future in which machines are able to write books, with less able authors only too wil!ing to cede all their rights to write, leaving talented authors standing out against the age of computers.<br />
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Published in 1953, some of the stories have undoubtedly influenced other later writers. <i>Skin, </i>the story of a talented artist, a friendship gone wrong, and an extensive tattoo, must surely have influenced Spanish author, Jose Carlos Somoza, when he wrote <i>The art of murder. </i>There are also tales that reflect on how our childhood, for good or bad, can have long-lasting effects into our adult life, and several wicked tales of revenge.<br />
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While lying in bed the morning after finishing the anthology the night before, I started to wonder how the anthology had got its name. Who was the someone like you? And I suddenly realised that the "you" of the title was every reader. You too could be the person who killed their nearest and dearest with a frozen leg of lamb, or perhaps you might be the person who drove them to do the deed. You might be a racist or a victim of racism, a bully or the bulied. Every story, however extraordinary or unlikely, has a moral conundrum at its heart, that will be reflected to a greater or lesser extent in each reader.<br />
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When I mentioned the stories on Facebook, this was a book that more friends seemed to remember than any other. And I think this is because however unusual the stories may be, there is something about them that makes them emotionally a tale of Everyman and woman. They're a fascinating collection, do read.Bookhoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03101346534682901240noreply@blogger.com0