Books - August 2023
Aug. 24th, 2023 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitSix books so far this month, but I'm not sure I'll finish any more before the month end.
Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee
I wrote in one of my Fannish 50 posts about the Wyndham and Banerjee books. Unfortunately this one didn't live up to expectations. This was a library book and normally I am able to finish my library books in the three week loan period, without needing to renew. This one I ended up renewing because it really wasn't grabbing me, and other books were. There were a couple of reasons: the first was that quite a proportion of the story was set in London around 1910 rather than in India in 1920 and the setting is one of the things which appeals. It didn't help that Wyndham says this case has always been on his mind, and yet it's not been mentioned at all in the previous three in the series. The second is the absence of Sergeant Banerjee for a good part of the story and of the two I much prefer him. However, I know there are others who think this a good book. [D8]
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
A retelling of the story of Achilles at the Trojan War from the point of view of Briseis. Another library book, which I don't finish in three weeks. Confirmed my feeling that I'm not a fan of mythology. [A8]
The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons
This is a new book, also borrowed from the library as soon as they had their copies in. I'm not sure where I heard about it, possibly even in the county library newsletter. A story about a book club in WWII was bound to appeal and I enjoyed it. Probably best described as a slice of life, I liked the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. The ending is a bit contrived, but acceptable in order to have a proper happy ending. I shall look out for other books by the author.
The Way to the Sea by Caroline Crampton
Caroline Crampton is the person behind the Shedunnit podcast and this is her first book. It's a description of the River Thames from its source in Gloucestershire, all the way through the countryside and Oxford and into and out of London ending up in the Thames Estuary. A combination of autobiographical snippets and descriptions of the river banks and the river itself. I enjoyed reading it. Yet another library book. [B8]
Cinderella Goes To The Morgue by Nancy Spain
I read a couple of Nancy Spain books last year - one of which I enjoyed, the other didn't work as well for me. This one was a disappointment and the humour really didn't work. [C8]
The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald
Penguin Books have started reissuing some of their Modern Classics - Crime & Espionage with the traditional green spine colour. I had heard this book recommended so I thought I'd treat myself to a copy (I had a couple on pre-order already). I think they look rather smart and will definitely keep them once I've read them. This is more of the hard-boiled detective novel - Lew Archer is based in L.A. - than my normal read - but I did enjoy it and read it far faster than I expected.
[Letters refer to my reading lists - I aim to read one book from each list per month. No Shedunnit title this month as I have read the winner, and none of the runners up were available at the library.]
Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee
I wrote in one of my Fannish 50 posts about the Wyndham and Banerjee books. Unfortunately this one didn't live up to expectations. This was a library book and normally I am able to finish my library books in the three week loan period, without needing to renew. This one I ended up renewing because it really wasn't grabbing me, and other books were. There were a couple of reasons: the first was that quite a proportion of the story was set in London around 1910 rather than in India in 1920 and the setting is one of the things which appeals. It didn't help that Wyndham says this case has always been on his mind, and yet it's not been mentioned at all in the previous three in the series. The second is the absence of Sergeant Banerjee for a good part of the story and of the two I much prefer him. However, I know there are others who think this a good book. [D8]
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
A retelling of the story of Achilles at the Trojan War from the point of view of Briseis. Another library book, which I don't finish in three weeks. Confirmed my feeling that I'm not a fan of mythology. [A8]
The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons
This is a new book, also borrowed from the library as soon as they had their copies in. I'm not sure where I heard about it, possibly even in the county library newsletter. A story about a book club in WWII was bound to appeal and I enjoyed it. Probably best described as a slice of life, I liked the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. The ending is a bit contrived, but acceptable in order to have a proper happy ending. I shall look out for other books by the author.
The Way to the Sea by Caroline Crampton
Caroline Crampton is the person behind the Shedunnit podcast and this is her first book. It's a description of the River Thames from its source in Gloucestershire, all the way through the countryside and Oxford and into and out of London ending up in the Thames Estuary. A combination of autobiographical snippets and descriptions of the river banks and the river itself. I enjoyed reading it. Yet another library book. [B8]
Cinderella Goes To The Morgue by Nancy Spain
I read a couple of Nancy Spain books last year - one of which I enjoyed, the other didn't work as well for me. This one was a disappointment and the humour really didn't work. [C8]
The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald
Penguin Books have started reissuing some of their Modern Classics - Crime & Espionage with the traditional green spine colour. I had heard this book recommended so I thought I'd treat myself to a copy (I had a couple on pre-order already). I think they look rather smart and will definitely keep them once I've read them. This is more of the hard-boiled detective novel - Lew Archer is based in L.A. - than my normal read - but I did enjoy it and read it far faster than I expected.
[Letters refer to my reading lists - I aim to read one book from each list per month. No Shedunnit title this month as I have read the winner, and none of the runners up were available at the library.]
no subject
Date: 2023-08-24 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-24 10:03 pm (UTC)I'd read another Ross MacDonald book, but wouldn't necessarily hunt for one.