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Books - March 2024
Mar. 31st, 2024 12:12 pmSix books read this month, which keeps me on track for my total of 75 for the year.
Making It So by Patrick Stewart
The actor's new autobiography, which arrived with just under a three month wait at the library. I enjoyed reading about his early life, but found the later part less interesting. I think any fan of him and his work would find the book worth reading. I suppose my ultimate judgement about an autobiography (or biography) is would I like to meet the person and my sense was I would have enjoyed meeting the earlier Stewart, less so now. But that's just my view.
Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce
This book (also borrowed from the library, but no long wait this time) was recommended to me because I like reading novels set in WWII. I really enjoyed it, despite it being written from first person POV (not something I generally enjoy). The heroine has her failings, but she acknowledges them and I can certainly share in her reflection at times of 'why did I do that?' This book is the first in the series, but despite having thoroughly enjoyed it, I have no wish to continue.
Mugby Junction by Charles Dickens
This was a book mentioned in a FutureLearn course on Railway Stations which I took last year. This is a collection of short stories, all set around the fictional Mugby Junction by both Dickens and other contemporary authors. The first few stories follow a theme, with a conclusion, the others stand alone. The descriptions of railway life in the 1860s is wonderful and gives a real sense of what it was like. Although written in the language of the time, I would recommend these stories to anyone with an interest in Dickens, Victorian England or who is looking for something a bit different.
Trent's Last Case by E C Bentley
This is a classic and seen as a precursor to the Golden Age of Detective stories - It was published in 1913. I read it because it's this month's Shedunnit read. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as I'd hoped, which will probably mean everyone else does! But it is a book which I am pleased to have ticked off the list.
Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
Another classic, this time of WWI literature. Graves fought and was injured on the Somme and suffered for many years not only from the after effects of the physical injury, but also mental trauma. I'm pleased to have read it; having heard the book quoted on several occasions, it was worth reading the source. And having visited a number of the sites I was able to visualise something of what was happening.
Murder under a Red Moon by Harini Nagrendra
I read the first of the Bangalore Detective Club series last year and enjoyed this second book. It's set in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in the early 1920s and features a young woman married to a doctor as the detective. The author is an ecologist who leads Bengaluru University's Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability, and she writes detective novels in her spare time. I enjoy her books, not just for the plots, but also for the insight into Bangalore at the time. The next book in the series is due out in the summer, and I've pre-ordered it.
My book bingo, as predicted, is slowing up, but there are at least some squares which I know will be filled as I have the books lined up, and there's plenty of time for others.
Making It So by Patrick Stewart
The actor's new autobiography, which arrived with just under a three month wait at the library. I enjoyed reading about his early life, but found the later part less interesting. I think any fan of him and his work would find the book worth reading. I suppose my ultimate judgement about an autobiography (or biography) is would I like to meet the person and my sense was I would have enjoyed meeting the earlier Stewart, less so now. But that's just my view.
Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce
This book (also borrowed from the library, but no long wait this time) was recommended to me because I like reading novels set in WWII. I really enjoyed it, despite it being written from first person POV (not something I generally enjoy). The heroine has her failings, but she acknowledges them and I can certainly share in her reflection at times of 'why did I do that?' This book is the first in the series, but despite having thoroughly enjoyed it, I have no wish to continue.
Mugby Junction by Charles Dickens
This was a book mentioned in a FutureLearn course on Railway Stations which I took last year. This is a collection of short stories, all set around the fictional Mugby Junction by both Dickens and other contemporary authors. The first few stories follow a theme, with a conclusion, the others stand alone. The descriptions of railway life in the 1860s is wonderful and gives a real sense of what it was like. Although written in the language of the time, I would recommend these stories to anyone with an interest in Dickens, Victorian England or who is looking for something a bit different.
Trent's Last Case by E C Bentley
This is a classic and seen as a precursor to the Golden Age of Detective stories - It was published in 1913. I read it because it's this month's Shedunnit read. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as I'd hoped, which will probably mean everyone else does! But it is a book which I am pleased to have ticked off the list.
Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
Another classic, this time of WWI literature. Graves fought and was injured on the Somme and suffered for many years not only from the after effects of the physical injury, but also mental trauma. I'm pleased to have read it; having heard the book quoted on several occasions, it was worth reading the source. And having visited a number of the sites I was able to visualise something of what was happening.
Murder under a Red Moon by Harini Nagrendra
I read the first of the Bangalore Detective Club series last year and enjoyed this second book. It's set in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in the early 1920s and features a young woman married to a doctor as the detective. The author is an ecologist who leads Bengaluru University's Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability, and she writes detective novels in her spare time. I enjoy her books, not just for the plots, but also for the insight into Bangalore at the time. The next book in the series is due out in the summer, and I've pre-ordered it.
My book bingo, as predicted, is slowing up, but there are at least some squares which I know will be filled as I have the books lined up, and there's plenty of time for others.
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