None of these are newly published books. They are books I found in Barter Books in Alnwick yesterday. The e-book has not taken over the book world yet as Barter Books was crowded, full of people all searching for ‘real’ books!
I got two Agatha Christies – Hallowe’en Party and Three-Act Tragedy, both Poirot books. I’ve been reading my way through Agatha Christie’s books for a few years now and I think I’ve only got a few left to read.
Next in the pile is Wycliffe and the Tangled Web by W J Burley. I’ve only read a few of these Wycliffe mysteries. Maybe when I come to the end of the Agatha Christies I’ll look out for more of them as I do like them, all (I think) set in Cornwall.
Then, The Glass Room by Simon Mawer. I’ve been looking out for this book each time I go to Barter Books and yesterday my luck was in – it was there! I’ve read two other books by Mawer, both of which I enjoyed and I read about The Glass Room when it was shortlisted a few years ago for the Man Booker Prize.
And lastly, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I’ve been reading The Goldfinch and the main character, Theo at one point reads The Idiot, which got me thinking I’d like to read it, so it was in my mind yesterday morning. It was there on the shelf on the ‘D’ shelf, face out so I couldn’t miss it. It may be a while until I read it though – it’s another long book and no doubt full of Russian names. But I did like The Brothers Karamazov, so I’m hoping to like this one too.
BooksPlease 
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I have been meaning to read more Wycliffe stories. Perhaps I should … 🙂
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Dorte, I think Wycliffe himself is a bit unusual for a fictional detective – happily married for one thing!
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I haven’t read ‘The Glass Room’ but I really enjoyed Mawer’s ‘The Girl Who Fell From the Sky’, so if it is as good as that you are in for a treat.
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Alex, I hope so. I haven’t read €˜The Girl Who Fell From the Sky’ – I hope BB has a copy of that too – or the library.
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I read The Idiot recently and enjoyed it much more than I’d expected to. It was a challenging read, but worth the effort.
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Thanks Helen, that’s good to know.
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perfect day, spending time choosing books.
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It was, Irene and Barter Books is one of my favourite bookshops – plenty of books!
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Dorte, I think Wycliffe himself is a bit unusual for a fictional detective – happily married for one thing! http://www.booksplease.org/?p=27697#comment-91380
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Yes, that must certainly be a flaw 😉
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Just curious – are you going to read Sophie Hannah’s latest novel, written in the “style” of Agatha Christie?
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Icewineanne, I’m not sure. I’m not keen on books written by another author, especially in the style of an author I like. I didn’t like ‘Death comes to Pemberley’ by P D James – not a patch on Jane Austen! But I did like Anthony Horowitz’s ‘House of Silk’, which I thought captured the essence of Sherlock Holmes. I think I’ll see what sort of reception Sophie Hannah’s book gets.
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Margaret – So glad you reminded me of the Wycliffe series. I absolutely must spotlight one of those novels! And the rest of your haul looks great too.
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I hope you enjoy your new books 🙂
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The Glass Room is the one I haven’t read or heard about – but I can vouch that you will get enjoyment out of all the rest. Well, maybe enjoyment is not the best way to describe ‘The Idiot’ but it’s a book that will stretch you in all directions! Do I mean a good work-out?
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Marina, I’ve only read the first few paragraphs of The Idiot and so far it looks OK, but I’ll be waiting for the work-out to get under way!
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