Books, Audiobooks, Courses - June 2021
Jun. 29th, 2021 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitAnother pile of library books, mostly needing to be read in three weeks as there were other reservations for them.
Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky by Patrick Hamilton
I chose to read this in preparation for Matthew Bourne's new ballet The Midnight Bell. I'm also counting it towards one of my lists as the book I had reserved turned out to be unavailable, presumably lost within the bowels of the county library. It's three separate stories but linked by sharing characters and odd references of events in each story. At 600+ pages it was a challenge (yes, someone else also wanted it) but I enjoyed the setting in 1930s London with working class people. [A6]
Thrush Green by Miss Read
The first in the Thrush Green series, which was written in the 1950s and set in the Cotswolds. Like the Fairacre series it has a number of very believable characters. The story lasts one day, but there's a great deal of depth within it. A lovely relaxing read and I shall, of course, be continuing with the series. I'd reserved the book last September, but had to wait for the community library to re-open before it could arrive. [A7]
The Gorse Trilogy by Patrick Hamilton
Three stories telling the life of Ernest Ralph Gorse, a thoroughly unpleasant anti-hero. I wouldn't usually enjoy such stories, but this one worked for me, the author never claiming his main character was anything other than as seen. Another 600+ pages, having read the first in three weeks, I decided I could do the same with this - it helped that we had a quiet week at the beginning of June, so I could spend longer than usual reading.
Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare
Short stories, so I read one every morning. Very believable characters, several clearly drawn from Hare's experience as a judge, with some excellent twists at the end of the stories. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
This is the Shedunnit book of the month for June. It's a new book, so the library has several copies and I only had to wait about a month for my copy to come. (As soon as I knew it was a possibility I placed my reservation.) I know it's very popular, but it wasn't really the book for me, there were too many things which jarred me and the solution didn't feel as satisfying as some. I shall be interested to read other comments. It's an okay book, but I doubt I'll read any more.
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
This turned out to be the second place in the vote for the Shedunnit June book. I'd placed a reservation in case it won, knowing I could always cancel, but decided to read it anyway as I'd been curious about the stories Upson has written with the real life author Josephine Tey as the fictional protagonist. I felt as though the story relied too much on the idea of Tey solving the crime without giving me a decent plot. Others will no doubt disagree.
Guilty Creatures: a menagerie of mysteries edited by Martin Edwards
One of my guilty pleasures being the collection of the British Library Crime Classics short stories, I had placed an order for the book as soon as I knew it was being published. This is another enjoyable collection of short stories, which again I read over a period of a number of mornings.
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
A classic, which the daughter had given me after we'd seen it in the theatre, back in 2016, and which I finally read. I may have waited a long time, but it was worth it as it's a book I would thoroughly recommend reading, even as an adult. [C6]
Thai Die by Monica Ferris
The next in the Needlecraft series of mysteries. I felt it was a bit of a mixed book. The premise was good, but, as with a previous book, too much time was spent without Betsy Devonshire (the amateur detective) being present, which I find was a detraction. And again I wasn't completely satisfied with the solution. [D6]
[Letters/numbers refer to my reading lists for the year, and record how I'm progressing. Nothing for 'B' this month as I reached B7 last month.]
I have reached 47 books in my Goodreads Challenge this year. That was originally out of 50, being a book a month for each of four reading lists. I've increased my goal to 60 to add a Shedunnit book each month, and somehow I don't think I will fail!
Audiobooks:
Cloudburst by Wilbur Smith, read by Toby Stephens. I'm not sure why I bought this, but it was quite enjoyable in a teen adventure story way.
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry, read by Bryan Dick and Louise Brearley. A 2-for-1 purchase and not, as I'd thought written in the time it was set - 1800s Edinburgh. It suffered from having the main characters reflect modern views, and, in the case of the main male character not being as likeable as I think he was supposed to be. Also, I'd guessed who was responsible for the crimes very early on.
FutureLearn courses:
Policing & Protest in Manchester: The Moss Side Riots by Manchester Grammar School. This was an interesting look at a recent part of English history, with a lot of discussion on the idea of a social contract. It definitely made me think, and finding the words to respond in the comments helped clarify those thoughts.
Accounting for Death in War by Royal Holloway College, London. Not the most cheerful of topics, but very interesting for all that. It was also an opportunity to do some practical statistical analysis, which I enjoyed. The course greatly benefitted by the tutor taking part in the comments, responding to questions and not taking himself too seriously.
How to Fundraise by the University of Kent. I took this as I thought it would be useful and indeed there were things I found helpful. However, there was very much the attitude that volunteers had a secondary role, 'we'll talk about the role of volunteers next week', when I suspect many taking the course were volunteers.
Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-78 by University of Reading. A new course, which I thought could be fun, but I felt it took the role and impact of punk too seriously.
Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky by Patrick Hamilton
I chose to read this in preparation for Matthew Bourne's new ballet The Midnight Bell. I'm also counting it towards one of my lists as the book I had reserved turned out to be unavailable, presumably lost within the bowels of the county library. It's three separate stories but linked by sharing characters and odd references of events in each story. At 600+ pages it was a challenge (yes, someone else also wanted it) but I enjoyed the setting in 1930s London with working class people. [A6]
Thrush Green by Miss Read
The first in the Thrush Green series, which was written in the 1950s and set in the Cotswolds. Like the Fairacre series it has a number of very believable characters. The story lasts one day, but there's a great deal of depth within it. A lovely relaxing read and I shall, of course, be continuing with the series. I'd reserved the book last September, but had to wait for the community library to re-open before it could arrive. [A7]
The Gorse Trilogy by Patrick Hamilton
Three stories telling the life of Ernest Ralph Gorse, a thoroughly unpleasant anti-hero. I wouldn't usually enjoy such stories, but this one worked for me, the author never claiming his main character was anything other than as seen. Another 600+ pages, having read the first in three weeks, I decided I could do the same with this - it helped that we had a quiet week at the beginning of June, so I could spend longer than usual reading.
Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare
Short stories, so I read one every morning. Very believable characters, several clearly drawn from Hare's experience as a judge, with some excellent twists at the end of the stories. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
This is the Shedunnit book of the month for June. It's a new book, so the library has several copies and I only had to wait about a month for my copy to come. (As soon as I knew it was a possibility I placed my reservation.) I know it's very popular, but it wasn't really the book for me, there were too many things which jarred me and the solution didn't feel as satisfying as some. I shall be interested to read other comments. It's an okay book, but I doubt I'll read any more.
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
This turned out to be the second place in the vote for the Shedunnit June book. I'd placed a reservation in case it won, knowing I could always cancel, but decided to read it anyway as I'd been curious about the stories Upson has written with the real life author Josephine Tey as the fictional protagonist. I felt as though the story relied too much on the idea of Tey solving the crime without giving me a decent plot. Others will no doubt disagree.
Guilty Creatures: a menagerie of mysteries edited by Martin Edwards
One of my guilty pleasures being the collection of the British Library Crime Classics short stories, I had placed an order for the book as soon as I knew it was being published. This is another enjoyable collection of short stories, which again I read over a period of a number of mornings.
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
A classic, which the daughter had given me after we'd seen it in the theatre, back in 2016, and which I finally read. I may have waited a long time, but it was worth it as it's a book I would thoroughly recommend reading, even as an adult. [C6]
Thai Die by Monica Ferris
The next in the Needlecraft series of mysteries. I felt it was a bit of a mixed book. The premise was good, but, as with a previous book, too much time was spent without Betsy Devonshire (the amateur detective) being present, which I find was a detraction. And again I wasn't completely satisfied with the solution. [D6]
[Letters/numbers refer to my reading lists for the year, and record how I'm progressing. Nothing for 'B' this month as I reached B7 last month.]
I have reached 47 books in my Goodreads Challenge this year. That was originally out of 50, being a book a month for each of four reading lists. I've increased my goal to 60 to add a Shedunnit book each month, and somehow I don't think I will fail!
Audiobooks:
Cloudburst by Wilbur Smith, read by Toby Stephens. I'm not sure why I bought this, but it was quite enjoyable in a teen adventure story way.
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry, read by Bryan Dick and Louise Brearley. A 2-for-1 purchase and not, as I'd thought written in the time it was set - 1800s Edinburgh. It suffered from having the main characters reflect modern views, and, in the case of the main male character not being as likeable as I think he was supposed to be. Also, I'd guessed who was responsible for the crimes very early on.
FutureLearn courses:
Policing & Protest in Manchester: The Moss Side Riots by Manchester Grammar School. This was an interesting look at a recent part of English history, with a lot of discussion on the idea of a social contract. It definitely made me think, and finding the words to respond in the comments helped clarify those thoughts.
Accounting for Death in War by Royal Holloway College, London. Not the most cheerful of topics, but very interesting for all that. It was also an opportunity to do some practical statistical analysis, which I enjoyed. The course greatly benefitted by the tutor taking part in the comments, responding to questions and not taking himself too seriously.
How to Fundraise by the University of Kent. I took this as I thought it would be useful and indeed there were things I found helpful. However, there was very much the attitude that volunteers had a secondary role, 'we'll talk about the role of volunteers next week', when I suspect many taking the course were volunteers.
Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-78 by University of Reading. A new course, which I thought could be fun, but I felt it took the role and impact of punk too seriously.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-29 01:49 pm (UTC)Edited to add: I listened to Louise Brearly do half of The Silent Patient. I think she does a good job with a certain kind of British female voice. She is also doing the next novel audiobook of the guy that wrote The Silent Patient with the guy that is narrating The Rivers of London (which I'm listening to), so maybe she's getting into the narrating world. Toby Stephens is an excellent narrator (I had to look him up to make certain he was who I thought he was) but he did an abridged series of the Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books and they were all excellent. American voices but no marble mouth.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-29 02:24 pm (UTC)I do like to follow a wide variety of courses, keeps the brain active and out of a rut ;)
I'm currently listening to Louise Brearley reading an abridged novel for BBC Radio 4 - she does have a nice way of reading, it's easy to listen to. I liked Toby Stephens' narration - it was probably what held me to a fairly juvenile story.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-29 02:57 pm (UTC)Okay, I've never heard of FutureLearn before, but now I'm intrigued. I need to check them out, because I'm all about UK and German punk from that era. :)
no subject
Date: 2021-06-29 03:39 pm (UTC)I recommend FutureLearn to everyone. Although it's British based its available to everyone, and many of the courses are run by foreign universities. There's a free option, which I use, but you can also upgrade. And it covers a wide variety of subjects so there's something relevant to everybody.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-30 01:26 am (UTC)I didn’t have to wait very long for The Postscript Murders and like you found it a bit disappointing. The ‘twists’ didn’t seem terribly twisting but rather twisted to purpose, if that makes sense. By the end all I felt was a bit ho-hum about the read. I won’t bother with anything more from the writer.
I believe Cloudburst is a YA novel by the way, a complete departure for Wilbur Smith.
As usual your FutureLearn courses sound fascinating, especially the Policing & Protest in Manchester one.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-30 08:13 am (UTC)You've summed up my thoughts on The Postscript Murders perfectly. Just too contrived.
It makes sense that Cloudburst is a YA novel. It's good, but I'm not the intended audience.
We were living in London at the time of the Brixton riots, so it was very interesting looking at what happened in Manchester.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 03:31 pm (UTC)I also enjoyed Thrush Green.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 03:35 pm (UTC)I shall certainly be reading my way through the Thrush Green series - slowly because there are lots of other books to read, but most definitely.