Book Review Year 7 No 2
Mar. 1st, 2021 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitFebruary was a good reading month, in part because of the bumper arrival of library books. [Again letters in square brackets refer to my reading lists - the intention is to read one book from each list per month]
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
This was one of the most popular books of 2020 in the UK, so I decided, since it was the genre I like and mentioned on the Shedunnit podcast that I would read it. I reserved it from the library back in October, and was surprised to get it so soon, this was because they purchased more copies. The county currently owns 42 copies, and today there are 246 reservations for it, which gives some idea of its popularity. I enjoyed it - it's an easy read, quite long, but ultimately I wasn't that impressed. But as a lockdown distraction, it works very well, and the idea of having a group of pensioners living in a retirement complex doing the sleuthing is entertaining. [B3]
Letters from Father Christmas by J R R Tolkein
I reserved this book before Christmas, but it finally arrived in late January. This is the collection of letters and drawings Tolkein sent every year to his children as they were growing up. An enchanting read. [B4]
When the Wind Blows by Cyril Hare
Death comes to a provinicial amateur orchestra. Set in the late 1940s, the characters will resonate with anyone who's had dealings with similar orchestras or choirs. I really enjoyed reading it, as did SM, and it reminded him of his time within various choirs. Times may change, but people don't. [C2]
Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh
Continuing my read through the Roderick Alleyn books. This was another I had seen in the autumn, and which I did remember as I read it. It was an okay read, but not, for me, one of the better ones. [D2]
Testament of Friendship by Vera Brittain
A biography of Brittain's friend Winifred Holtby. Two years ago we visited Holtby's grave in Rudston in Yorkshire, and last year I read South Riding, which is thought to be her greatest novel. I wasn't as taken with Holtby as I thought I might be, and felt she was made out to be almost a saint. There was one quote of Holtby's that I really liked though: 'This alone is to be feared - the closed mind, the sleeping imagination, the death of the spirit.' [A2]
Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac
Carnac was another pseudonym of E C R Lorac, so I was keen to read this book. I therefore bought it using some of my mother-in-law's Christmas money (she usually gives me a book token - I saw no reason not to act as if she had!). It's set partly in London and partly in Austria, and although I found it a bit slower starting than some of her other books, it was important the set up was established properly and by the end I was reading it quickly, keen to find out what happened. (Also, I'm doing 7 Days 7 Covers and this was the first book which came to hand.)
It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr
The Shedunnit book of the month for February. I managed to find a cheap secondhand copy. It was reasonable, but it wasn't particularly my style of book, and I found the narrator grating at times. It was interesting to have read it, and I may well try another Carr book, but he wouldn't rate amongst my favourite authors.
My current book bingo card:
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
This was one of the most popular books of 2020 in the UK, so I decided, since it was the genre I like and mentioned on the Shedunnit podcast that I would read it. I reserved it from the library back in October, and was surprised to get it so soon, this was because they purchased more copies. The county currently owns 42 copies, and today there are 246 reservations for it, which gives some idea of its popularity. I enjoyed it - it's an easy read, quite long, but ultimately I wasn't that impressed. But as a lockdown distraction, it works very well, and the idea of having a group of pensioners living in a retirement complex doing the sleuthing is entertaining. [B3]
Letters from Father Christmas by J R R Tolkein
I reserved this book before Christmas, but it finally arrived in late January. This is the collection of letters and drawings Tolkein sent every year to his children as they were growing up. An enchanting read. [B4]
When the Wind Blows by Cyril Hare
Death comes to a provinicial amateur orchestra. Set in the late 1940s, the characters will resonate with anyone who's had dealings with similar orchestras or choirs. I really enjoyed reading it, as did SM, and it reminded him of his time within various choirs. Times may change, but people don't. [C2]
Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh
Continuing my read through the Roderick Alleyn books. This was another I had seen in the autumn, and which I did remember as I read it. It was an okay read, but not, for me, one of the better ones. [D2]
Testament of Friendship by Vera Brittain
A biography of Brittain's friend Winifred Holtby. Two years ago we visited Holtby's grave in Rudston in Yorkshire, and last year I read South Riding, which is thought to be her greatest novel. I wasn't as taken with Holtby as I thought I might be, and felt she was made out to be almost a saint. There was one quote of Holtby's that I really liked though: 'This alone is to be feared - the closed mind, the sleeping imagination, the death of the spirit.' [A2]
Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac
Carnac was another pseudonym of E C R Lorac, so I was keen to read this book. I therefore bought it using some of my mother-in-law's Christmas money (she usually gives me a book token - I saw no reason not to act as if she had!). It's set partly in London and partly in Austria, and although I found it a bit slower starting than some of her other books, it was important the set up was established properly and by the end I was reading it quickly, keen to find out what happened. (Also, I'm doing 7 Days 7 Covers and this was the first book which came to hand.)
It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr
The Shedunnit book of the month for February. I managed to find a cheap secondhand copy. It was reasonable, but it wasn't particularly my style of book, and I found the narrator grating at times. It was interesting to have read it, and I may well try another Carr book, but he wouldn't rate amongst my favourite authors.
My current book bingo card:
