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So, back from my hiatus which was entirely due to a lovely three week break including two weeks in Italy where, because of luggage restrictions (four of us travelling by car in Umbria and Tuscany) I finally succumbed and used the Kindle app on my iPad rather than pack physical books.
I have now fallen totally in love with the thing and managed to get through five novels which is the most I’ve read for ages. It has also left me with a backlog of posts for both here and Bride of the Screen God which I meant to catch up with before going back to work tomorrow, but best laid plans etc. I spent the time on laundry and going to see Looper (loved it) and visiting the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Tate (overwhelming).
But new stuff also came into the Bride’s residence this week:
Film & TV stuff:
- Cabin in the Woods – DVD and visual companion, thoughts on the film here
- The Big Bang Theory S1-5 boxed set, because lots of people (well 4) whose opinions I value said I would love it
- Marvel Avengers Assemble, just because I had to have it (even though I still hate the title – as I said here)
Books:
- Dolly by Susan Hill because we all need a ghost story for Hallowe’en
- Garment of Shadows by Laurie R King, because I love Mary Russell
- Frank’n’Stan by MP Robertson which looks lovely and is a nice placeholder for seeing Frankenweenie when it finally gets out over here
- the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition catalogue
I’m currently trying to decide which books to read next but definitely want to keep the momentum from my holiday going.
It’s been a while since I updated everyone on my book purchases, probably because I’m hugely embarrassed that my self-imposed embargo on new books has imploded in a manner rarely seen these days. So as confession is good for the soul, these are the items bought since my last post at the end of May:
- Team Cul de Sac, edited by Chris Sparks – a tribute volume to the cartoonist Richard Thompson, with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; i read this as soon as it arrived being a huge fan of the comic strip and it is just sublime;
- The Addams Family: An Evilution by Charles Addams – um, it’s the Addams Family, why wouldn’t I buy it? Yay Morticia!;
The next three were the result of a trip to Salisbury on a wet Sunday which of course meant we had to shelter in the local Waterstones.
- Oscar’s Books by Thomas Wright – tells the story of Oscar Wilde through his reading;
- Hot Flushes, Cold Science by Louise Foxcroft – a history of the modern menopause (because I am a woman of a certain age and it looked fascinating);
- Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo – haven’t read any DeLillo for a while, and the film version looks interesting so thought I would give it a go – nothing to do with R-Patz on the cover.
Other bits and bobs:
- Blue Nights by Joan Didion – because I hugely admired The Year of Magical Thinking (as both a book and a play);
- Maps & Legends by Michael Chabon – a series of linked essays in praise of reading and writing according to the blurb, part of my love affair with books about books and reading;
- Vox by Nicholson Baker – about time for a re-read I thought, then realised I didn’t have a copy of my own;
- Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan – so impressed by The Last Werewolf I went and bought the sequel.
From my first trip to Daunts bookshop on Cheapside, courtesy of Silvery Dude:
- The Horror of Love by Lisa Hilton – the story of Nancy Mitford’s relationship with Gaston Palewski, part of my ever-growing Mitford library;
From a trip to Waterstones Piccadilly to hear Ben Aaronovitch speak (more of that in a second):
- When Nights Were Cold by Susanna Jones – came in under my radar, sole survivor of an all-woman expedition to the Alps, an unsettling historical thrillery sort of book as I understand it
So you can see why I might be embarrassed.
I have managed to finish a few books in this time (though as always not as many as I would like): Team Cul de Sac as mentioned above, Kings of Eternity and The Last Werewolf – reviews of the latter two will follow, and I’m currently enjoying Whispers Underground.
Which brings me to an evening with Ben Aaronovitch at the end of June, where I was able to hear him speak about his writing and got my book signed and also one for Silvery Dude who couldn’t come along because of a family emergency. Very enjoyable, funny and engaging evening which just proves that I need to make time for this sort of event more than I do currently.
Have a good reading week!
I only managed a week without buying any books; this embargo thing isn’t working terribly well I have to say. Though I do think I had a bit of an excuse – I was meeting my friend the Semi-Scandinavian for cocktails on Tuesday (yes, I know, on a school night) and I was early, and remembered that I needed to buy a card for another friend who is about to go off on maternity leave so I popped into the nearest Waterstone’s to find something suitable, which I did.
I also found these:
- The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham – one of his that I haven’t read, was totally seduced into buying this by the wonderful cover
- The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge – seems suitable in the year that we commemorate Captain Scott’s attempt on the South Pole (though disloyally I have been an Amundsen fan since we did a project on this in Primary 7)
And I finished a book, Bury Her Deep by Catriona McPherson, a 1930s murder mystery set in Fife.
I am now in a struggle with my friend Silvery Dude who is trying to influence my reading at the moment, by pushing me towards three books he has finished recently and recommends highly. I may succumb, but only under protest because it should be the OTHER WAY ROUND.
(But they do look good so I may let him off)
Have a good reading week!
Since last week’s massive haul of new books I have been good and not been tempted to buy any more.
I have been able to secure a couple of tickets for Silvery Dude and me to see Ben Aaronovitch speak about his new novel Whispers Underground at Waterstone’s in London’s fabulous Piccadilly in June; I am very excited about that indeed as I love the series.
I have also managed to catch up on some of my reviews both here and over at Bride of the Screen God; still got quite a few to do though.
But the big news this week is that yes, I have finally finished a book; my re-read of ‘Salem’s Lot. I am so glad I picked this up as part of my Big Re-Read project as I had sort of forgotten just how awesome it actually is. I’m going to enjoy writing about it (when I get that far).
Have a good reading week!
Since my last post to the Sunday Salon I have singularly failed to finish anything though I have been dipping in and out of a number of books.
And despite the imposition of an alleged book buying embargo, I have obtained the following new books since my last post (some paid for by a book token left over from my birthday so not quite as damning as it looks):
- Watson’s Choice by Gladys Mitchell – Sir Bohun Chantry’s party to celebrate Sherlock Holmes is thrown into disarray by the arrival of the Hound of the Baskervilles but luckily Mrs Bradley is there to put things to rights (as soon as I got this I added it to my Readathon pile and it is well and truly read)
- The Kings of Eternity by Eric Brown – ” a novel of vast scope and depth, yet imbued with humanity and characters you’ll come to love” and a recommendation from Silvery Dude, as is:
- The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan – “You’re the last. I’m sorry. The end is coming” Justin Cronin says its glorious so how could it possibly be avoided?
- Adorned in Dreams by Elizabeth Wilson – an updated version of a book on fashion and modernity which was first published in 1985. When it came out, Angela Carter said it was “the best I have read on the subject, bar none”
- Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
- Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel – the sequel to Wolf Hall, and a means of encouraging me to finally getting round to finishing it
- Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel – “Alison Hart, a medium by trade, tours the dormitory tons of London’s orbital road with her flint-hearted sidekick Colette, passing on messages from dead ancestors” Philip Pullman says this is one of he greatest ghost stories in the language
- A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel – I think i can see a bit of a pattern here – “a gripping epic and tour de force of historical imagination”
- The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell – Mrs Bradley once again, proving that “some English villages can be murderously peaceful”
- Foundation: The History of England Part 1 by Peter Ackroyd – just dipping into this on the way home in the cab was a joy; takes us up to the death of Henry VII
Not a bad haul; now if I could only get some of my current reads FINISHED…….
I am still working my way through The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. I’ve started a re-read of ‘Salem’s Lot as part of my own personal challenge for this year.
I also managed to finish a really fascinating non-fiction book, Last Days of Glory by Tony Rennell which covers the period immediately before and after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901; I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it in two sittings.
Only one new book arrived this week:
- Stonemouth by Iain Banks – “welcome to Stonemouth, home to a five-mile beach, gangsters, lost love and a suspension bridge”, and which has served to point out to me the backlog of Banksian reading that I have chosen to ignore
So far sticking to my embargo but still have a book token from my birthday to spend which I shall treat as an exception.
And I signed up for the 24 Hour Readathon on 21 April; looking forward to it very much.
Didn’t do very much reading this week; continued to make some progress on The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. I decided on my reading list for Carl’s Once Upon a Time VI challenge, and started my first read, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Hoping to do more reading over the Easter break.
The following new books came into the Bride’s abode this week:
- A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear – the latest Maisie Dobbs mystery (I think I’m a book behind so must get on)
- Timeless by Gail Carriger – the latest Alexia Tarabotti story, “a novel of vampires, werewolves and Egyptian thingamabobs”
As of today I am on a book-buying embargo (apart from those pre-ordered on Amazon) and I am also going to try to catch up with my backlog of reviews (four books and counting) before I forget what it was that I thought about them.
Despite quite a bit of travelling this week I only managed to finish one book: The Telling of Lies by Timothy Findley which is one of my big re-reads.
But the opportunity to go book shopping in Glasgow plus some temptations via the internet meant that the following new books arrived in the Bride’s home this week:
- The Storyteller by Antonia Michaels – “a spellbinding tale of suspense, danger and transformative love”
- Mudwoman by Joyce Carol Oates – “extraordinarily intense, racking and resonant”
- HP Lovecraft by Michel Houellebecq – “indispensable reading for anyone interested in Lovecraft”
- Fated by Benedict Jacka – Camden. Mysterious relics in the British Museum. Probability Mages
- Spitalfields Life by The Gentle Author – the book of the blog, a lovely thing in itself
I am currently thinking of signing up to Carl’s Once Upon a Time challenge, and also the 24 Hour readathon in April. I’ll post on those separately once I’ve (a) made my mind up and (b) started the appropriate book piles.
And at least the sun has been shining; spring is just around the corner.
Only finished one book this week, though have started a couple of others. The one I did finish was Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris which was really compelling as I said in my post last week. I have continued to read and love The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and have started one of my big re-reads.
New books arriving chez Bride this week are:
- Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd – Mary Queen of Scots in a 1970s style
- Eat Him If You Like by Jean Teule – “A true story. Tuesday 16 August 1870, Alain de Money, makes his way to the village fair. He arrives at two o’clock. Two hours later, the crowd has gone crazy; they have lynched, tortured, burned and eaten him”. A short but apparently powerful story.
- The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule – “Has your life been a failure? Let’s make your death a success”
- Unwritten Secrets by Ronald Frame -“Mariel Baxter, a famous American soprano, has suddenly cancelled all her recitals and flown to Vienna. In the 1980s she came to the city to study the art of lieder singing with the reclusive Ursule Kroll, one of the brightest stars of the Nazi era and a favourite of the Fuhrer himself. The two haven’t communicated since Mariel’s unexpected departure over twenty-five years ago. So why has Mariel come back?”
I have loved Ronald Frame for a very long time and may write a post just about him in the near future. He pops up again because on a long trip back home from Manchester I played about on the Amazon app on my iPhone and downloaded some of his stories for the Kindle app on my iPad (which I don’t talk about very much because although I have quite a few books on there I haven’t actually read any). But this week I’ve bought quite a few, namely:
- One Day by David Nicholls, because I thought it was time that I did
- Carnbeg Picallili, Mysteries of Carnbeg and A Carnbeg Affair by Ronald Frame, beacuse of my liking for Carnbeg as a setting
- Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah, because I read a very good review (but have forgotten where, sorry)
This week I have alot of travelling (Manchester and Glasgow) and some time off so I’m hoping to get a bit of reading done.
Feeling fairly pleased with my reading this week. I finished Hell Train by Christopher Fowler which I thoroughly enjoyed and is now on my backlog pile of books to post about in detail, which I’d like to clear this week. I continued to read and love The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and also started and finished Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris which was really compelling.
New books arriving chez Bride this week are:
- The Tiger in the House by Carl van Vechten – “a passionate cat lover offers a treasury of anecdote, fact and lore concerning the cat’s independent nature and other traits; the cat’s long association with the occult; the cat in folklore, music, art and fiction; the cat and the poet; literary men who have loved cats; and much more” Can’t have a cat of my own because of the Book God’s asthma so this is the next best thing (I hope); it was originally published in 1936
- London Fragments by Rudiger Gorner – on ten strolls through London, the author explores the capital’s literary landscape
Haven’t yet decided what to read this week on my commute (Glass Book is far too big to lug about with me); possible focus on shorter works I think to try to get me back on my reading target.
Bride of the Book God 