Monthly Archives: January, 2016
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My daughter gave me The Help by Kathryn Stockett as part of my Christmas present a year or two ago. It had been her favourite book of the year. When I started reading it, I was not sure I would enjoy it, but because of the strong recommendation, I persevered. I am very glad that I …
Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs
I was so excited when I had an opportunity to meet Kathy Reichs when she visited Scotland and took part in the Bloody Scotland Crime Writers’ Festival in 2014. On that occasion she spoke about when she had travelled to Afghanistan with some other authors to spend time with the serving troops. I bought Bones …
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I remember, when my sister and I were small children, my mother used to take an hour out on Sunday afternoons to read us a story. It was a treasured time, after church, Sunday school and Sunday lunch, our “story time” was sacrosanct. It took Mum several weeks, at an hour a time, to read …
The Leper’s Companions by Julia Blackburn
For me, The Leper’s Companions by Julia Blackburn had two things going for it: It is short and the print is large. I read it because it was book of the month for my book group. Under no other circumstances would this book have entered my consciousness, although it was shortlisted for an Orange Booker Prize. …
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Our book group suffered a confusion and we were offered two books to choose from instead of one book for the month being nominated. My friend Maggie had read The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and suggested that we go with this book instead of the other on offer. I am glad her suggestion was …
Rise by Karen Campbell
I had had a notification from goodreads that Rise by Karen Campbell had been published, but it was my friend Dawn who lent me the book when I said that I had not read it. It had been book of the month at her book group. Now, to lay my cards on the table, I …
2015 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,900 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people. Click here to …
Get Even by Martina Cole
I went into the library and the most recent Martina Cole book, Get Even, had just come in. As I was at the desk at the right time, I got to borrow the book without waiting. What a lucky break! I have enjoyed most of the books by Martina Cole that I have read and …
Stormchild by Bernard Cornwell
My husband always enjoys books by Bernard Cornwell, who is an English author of historical novels. Cornwell is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe and my husband has read ths series and most of the others too. So, when he recommended Stormchild to me, I knew it would be a good book. …
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