A very unusual hardback read for me next - I’m not a fan of a hardback, finding them unwieldy and uncomfortable to handle, but I was willing to make an exception for Lee Child - The Affair, a Reacher series book which as far as we could recall when we spotted it on a supermarket charity bookshelf in Stirling, we didn’t already have. A spectacularly wet and windy Sunday saw us spend much of the day reading, and indeed I demolished over half of the book in that one day, finishing the remainder the day after. Usual Reacher fare of course - although this one perhaps even slightly more far fetched than usual - but as always extremely readable and entertaining. This one will head home with us and join the others.
Charity book shelves on the way up provided rich pickings for us on the Reacher front - as well as this we also found two others we didn’t think we already had, so our plan of only taking home books we were currently reading appeared to have been scuppered early on!
On to another book I took with me specifically to read while away - Molly Green- The Wartime Librarian’s Secret. Quite the culture shock going from Reacher to this, I confess! The story here was a decent enough one, albeit a fairly classic boy-meets-girl tale, but some minor errors which should really have been sorted out in the editing process let it down rather. The ending too felt rather rushed - the death of a main character generally merits more than a brief mention in a letter, for a start! It was interesting to read the authors notes regarding the setting and certain aspects of the book, but ultimately I won’t be seeking out anymore of Ms Green’s work. Left behind in a book exchange on Uist.
Back to a favourite author - TV’s Fern Britton adores Cornwall, knows it well, and this shows in her novels which are at least mainly set in the county. I picked up Daughters Of Cornwall from a book exchange in the first few days of our arrival in Uist, and it ended up waiting until the end of the trip to get started. I tore through it though- a fascinating story of three women, Mother, Daughter and Granddaughter - and how through various circumstances their lives mirror one another. This one was finished at our hotel where we broke the journey on our way back, and will be passed on to Mum who also enjoys Britton’s writing.
As you will be aware by the time you see this, I then found myself needing to select another book - or books - that I could take away and not have to worry about bringing home - this time for my trip to Lundy with pals. Thankfully one of the features of the Marisco Tavern on the island is plentifully filled bookshelves - you take a book to read and leave another behind - with limited mobile signals lots of reading tends to get done - along with various silly games, and jigsaws - and so it works well to have a good supply of books available. Initially I selected Linwood Barclay and Find You First - an author who while I enjoy reading is not one we keep, they are excellent thrillers (this one being no exception) but don’t necessarily lend themselves to being read again particularly soon. Tech millionaire Miles on discovering he has a terminal illness sets out to track down his offspring from a fertility clinic donation he made in his youth - a simple enough concept but one which quickly turns quite dark. A good read but somewhat spoiled by a very implausible ending, for me. Left behind on Lundy.
The second book I took with me to Lundy was Anita Burgh - Clare’s War. I thought from the title I’d read this one before but the first few pages told me that was wrong. Burgh’s books are usually a good read, and a foggy day on Lundy saw me tear through the first half of this tale set in wartime France, by which time I was hooked enough to read the rest the following day! If I had to make any criticism of the book it would be that the ending was slightly telegraphed, but it really didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all. A great read from a solid author- left on the Tavern bookshelves for someone else to enjoy.
Time to move on to a book that L had finished - we tend to swap books between us while here, before raiding the Tavern bookshelves when there is nothing else that appeals. L absolutely devoured Harriet Tyce - Blood Orange, going through it from start to finish in one day, so I was expecting good things. I wasn’t disappointed - a main character who becomes more likeable as the story goes on, cleverly interwoven stories with parallels between the characters, and a huge twist in the tail which neither of us saw coming. Couldn’t recommend this one enough - and our copy was immediately passed to S to read!
Time for a raid of the Tavern bookshelves then - and a distinct change of genre as L recommended Spider Woman - the autobiography of Lady Hale. I wouldn’t describe myself as a regular autobiography reader but every now and again one does grab me, and this one certainly did. Hale has an engaging way of writing, and a wonderfully descriptive turn of phrase, and she has also lead a very interesting life! I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it was no chore to shoehorn in time to read the final few pages before leaving so it could be returned to the Tavern shelves.
Final Lundy book was another that L had read and enjoyed - How to kill your family by Bella Mackie. I started this one on our final day, reading the first few chapters in the pub while we waited for the boat, and a good few more on my journey home. Oddly enough I did only have someone in the adjacent seat on the train for a single stop while reading this - maybe the title was offputting?! This is a cleverly written book with a seriously dark, twisted main character - likeable is certainly not a word that could be applied to Grace, but she is definitely fascinating! This one carries forward to October.
A couple of late additions to the “To Be Read” shelf via a little book exchange box I pass near to work - the Rankin is one I haven’t read, and the Pullman is the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy - the third in the series is already awaiting reading.
With 9 books during the month, this is certainly the most I've read in a month for a very long while - and the amount of downtime facilitated that of course. It's also a very eclectic mix isn't it, and one where my reading choices were very influenced by circumstances of course!
Robyn
1 comment:
I've read 3 of your books, I too love Lindwood Barclay, Harriot Tyce, blood orange was great and how to kill your family was fun. I will check out the other titles.
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