Category: Books

Six in Six: The 2023 Edition

Published on by Margaret5 Comments

I’m pleased to see that Jo at The Book Jotter  is running this meme again this year to summarise six months of reading, sorting the books into six categories – you can choose from the ones Jo suggests or come up with your own. I think it’s a good way at looking back over the last six months’ reading.

Six Crime Fiction

  1. Underworld by Reginald Hill
  2. The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor
  3. The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
  4. Aftermath by Peter Robinson
  5. Shroud of Darkness by E C F Lorac
  6. A Death in Tuscany by Michele Giuttari

Six Authors New to me

  1. The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
  2. The Dancing Bear by Francis Faviell
  3. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
  4. How to Save a Life by S D Robertson
  5. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
  6. The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas

Six books from the past that drew me back there

  1. Lion by Conn Iggulden
  2. The City of Tears by Kate Mosse
  3. Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks
  4. The Light Between the Oceans by M L Stedman
  5. Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world by Michelle Scott Tucker
  6. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Six Books I Read from My To Be Read List

  1. The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jonasson
  2. Ghost Walk by Alanna Knight
  3. This Nowhere Place by Natasha Bell
  4. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
  5. The Summer That Never Was by Peter Robinson
  6. Not Dead Yet by Peter James

Six authors I have read before

  1. Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry
  2. Asking for the Moon by Reginald Hill
  3. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
  4. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
  5. The Driftwood Girls by Mark Douglas-Home
  6. The Man With No Face by Peter May

Six books recently added to my wish list

  1. The Birthday Girl: (A Mallory Dawson Crime Thriller Book 1) by Sarah Ward
  2. As the Crow Flies (DI Nick Dixon Crime Book 1) by Damien Boyd
  3. The Last Remains: The 15th in the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries by Elly Griffiths
  4. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley
  5. Weyward by Emilia Hart
  6. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

How is your reading going this year? Do let me know if you take part in Six in Six too

The Classics Club Spin Result

Published on by Margaret5 Comments

The spin number in The Classics Club Spin is number …

18

which for me is Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. The rules of the Spin are that this is the book for me to read by 30 April 2023.

Synopsis from Amazon

Steinbeck’s first major critical and commercial success, TORTILLA FLAT is also his funniest novel. Danny is a paisano, descended from the original Spanish settlers who arrived in Monterey, California, centuries before. He values friendship above money and possessions, so that when he suddenly inherits two houses, Danny is quick to offer shelter to his fellow gentlemen of the road. Their love of freedom and scorn for material things draw them into daring and often hilarious adventures. Until Danny, tiring of his new responsibilities, suddenly disappears…

I’m pleased about this result as I’ve enjoyed reading other books by John Steinbeck – my favourite is Cannery Row. So I’m expecting this to be good – and hope I won’t be disappointed.

Did you take part in the Classics Spin? What will you be reading?

My Life in Books 2022

Published on by Margaret4 Comments

I’ve seen this recently on several blogs and in the past I’ve done slightly different versions.The idea is simple: Using only books you have read this year, answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title. 

Links in the titles below will take you to my reviews where they exist.

In high school I (read): Maigret’s Memoirs by Georges Simenon

People might be surprised by: The Riddle of the Third Mile (Colin Dexter)

I will never be: Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

My life post-lockdown was: State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)

My fantasy Job is: Talking About Detective Fiction (P D James)

At the end of a long day I need: A Room With a View (E M Forster)

I hate being: The Queen’s Lady (Joanne Hickson)

I wish I had: The Second Sight of Zachery Cloudesley (Sean Lusk)

My family reunions are (at): The Chalet (Catherine Cooper)

At a party you’d find me (with) The Honourable Schoolboy (John le Carré)

I’ve never been to A Town Like Alice (Nevil Shute)

A happy day includes: Small Things Like These (Claire Keegan)

Motto I live by: Now and Forever (Ray Bradbury)

On my bucket list is (to find): Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

In my next life, I want to have: The Fellowship of the Ring (J R R Tolkien)

The Classics Club Spin Result

Published on by Margaret2 Comments

The spin number in The Classics Club Spin is number …

which for me is Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe. The rules of the Spin are that this is the book for me to read by 29th January 2023.

Synopsis

I grew as impudent a Thief, and as dexterous as ever Moll Cut-Purse was’

Born and abandoned in Newgate Prison, Moll Flanders is forced to make her own way in life. She duly embarks on a career that includes husband-hunting, incest, bigamy, prostitution and pick-pocketing, until her crimes eventually catch up with her. One of the earliest and most vivid female narrators in the history of the English novel, Moll recounts her adventures with irresistible wit and candour—and enough guile that the reader is left uncertain whether she is ultimately a redeemed sinner or a successful opportunist. 

I hesitated before adding this book to my Classics Club list and now I’m not sure that I do want to read it. I’m hoping that at least I’ll like it. If you have read it I’d love to know what you thought of it.

Did you take part in the Classics Spin? What will you be reading?

Six in Six: The 2022 Edition

Published on by Margaret11 Comments

I’m pleased to see that Jo at The Book Jotter  is running this meme again this year to summarise six months of reading, sorting the books into six categories – you can choose from the ones Jo suggests or come up with your own. I think it’s a good way at looking back over the last six months’ reading.

This year, just like last year, I haven’t been reading as much as in previous years and up to the end of June the total was standing at 38 books. Here are my six categories (with links to my reviews in the first 4 categories).

Six Crime Fiction

  1. Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton
  2. The Last Trial by Scott Turow
  3. The Second Cut by Louise Welsh
  4. The Drowned City by K L Maitland
  5. Cécile is Dead by Georges Simenon
  6. The Hiding Place by Simon Lelic

Six Authors New to me

  1. How To Catch a Mole by Marc Hamer (nonfiction)
  2. The Chalet by Catherine Cooper
  3. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
  4. Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison
  5. The Chapel in the Woods by Dolores Gordon-Smith
  6. A Tapping at My Door by David Jackson

Six books from the past that drew me back there

  1. The Queen’s Lady by Joanne Hickson
  2. The Man in the Bunker by Rory Clements
  3. Ashes by Christopher de Vinck
  4. The Red Monarch by Bella Ellis
  5. The Homecoming by Anna Enquist
  6. Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook

Six Books I Read from My To Be Read List

  1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  2. The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
  3. Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
  4. A Room With a View by E M Forster
  5. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
  6. The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter

Six  Books I’ve Read But Not Reviewed

  1. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
  2. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley
  3. Dead Like You by Peter James
  4. Smiley’s People by John le Carré
  5. Holy Island by L J Ross
  6. The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkein

Six authors I read last year – but not so far this year and their books I have on my shelves to read

  1. Daphne du Maurier – I’ll Never Be Young Again
  2. Lucinda Riley – The Pearl Sister
  3. Charles Dickens – Nicolas Nickleby
  4. Robert Harris – Nucleus
  5. Beryl Bainbridge – Winter Garden
  6. Steve Cavanagh – Thirteen

How is your reading going this year? Do let me know if you take part in Six in Six too

The Classics Club Spin Result

Published on by Margaret6 Comments

The spin number in The Classics Club Spin is number …

which for me is The Mousetrap and Other Plays by Agatha Christie and I am delighted as this is a book I’ve wanted to read for years!. The rules of the Spin are that this is the book for me to read by 7th August, 2022.

Synopsis from the book:

These four gripping plays by the undisputed Queen of Crime, here published for the first time in book form, provide yet more evidence of her mastery of the domestic thriller. Agatha Christie’s talents as a playwright are equal to her skills as a novelist and reading her plays, with their ingenious plots and colourful cast of characters, is every bit as pleasurable.

The Mousetrap has made history by becoming the longest running play ever. And Then There Were None was another huge theatrical success and was made into a superb film by Rene Clair. The two remaining plays were both adapted by Agatha Christie from her earlier novels: The Hollow, set in the English countryside and Appointment with Death, set among the exotic ruins of Petra in the suffocating heat of the Jordan desert.

Agatha Christie dramatised many of her own stories and frequently devised new twists of plot and character to surprise and enthrall her audience.

The Mousetrap opened in London’s West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. It then re-opened on 17 May 2021. It’s set in a guest house, Monkswell Manor, wintertime “in the present day”, that is the early 1950s. The play has a twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre, so I’ll be limited in what I can write about it.

Did you take part in the Classics Spin? What will you be reading?