Travels through words

I keep putting off this post but finally I must publish it.  Very sketchy but it will do!
I've read some great books recently and if you're wondering what to read, might I suggest some of the following...

30.  Edward Marston The Railway detective in: Murder on the Brighton Express

I am a creature of habit and if I like an author, in some sort of obsessive vein, I regard it as my life's duty to read all the series by that author.  I definitely will be doing this with Mr Marston's Railway detective series. Set in the 1830's, the Railway detective had the magic and brilliance of Agatha Christie and others but a different era.  Great characterisation and an interesting twist and SUCH an interesting intended victim! Considering this cost me 10p in a library sale, I consider this money well spent.

31.  Georgette Heyer Frederica
Another classic Heyer.  Great heroine, great hero, lovely plot which though drawn-out, seems to pass by very quickly without any repetition or boredom.  Love it!

32.  Eva Ibbotson The Secret Countess
I feel really greedy in this post listing all my favourite authors. I seemed to save them up for the holiday.  Ms Ibbotson is one of my 'obsessive must-read list' (But I like to draw it out, so I don't read them all in one go).  This is a real Cinderella story telling of a Russian countess, who in the revolution and her Father's subsequent death in WW1, finds herself in England having to work as a servant.  It is totally Downton Abbey with a mean villainess who is going to marry the hero because he has no money and has to save the property when we really want her to marry our heroine.  A beautiful love-story, told in a gentle manner.

33.  Doctor Who The Completely Useless Encyclopaedia by Steve Lyons and Chris Howarth
This is one hilarious book about the most random Doctor Who trivia!!
Bloomin heck, when I checked the exact title on Amazon for this one, someone is selling this for £45!  Wow, I could make a mint on my £5 investment!  I bought this shop on my first trip to the Who shop in East Ham when I was about 15!  I went with my friend from school called Ruth- we discovered that apart from a passion for singing, we also loved Doctor Who equally!  We marvelled at the Tardis and daleks you could stand by and a whole myriad of items available!  It's moved to Upton Park now, but it's well worth a visit!
Anyway, this book totally and utterly pokes fun at/slags off Doctor Who but in a meticulous, affectionate and loving way which suggests these guys totally love it!  I learnt all sorts of random facts and laughed lots!  The best things are the 10 things about Doctor Who, e.g. '10 things that mean Doctor Who fans aren't as sad as other fans' or '10 names that could have been named by Doctor Who fans'.  This book is absolutely worth a read if you are a fan or not (and just want to mock Doctor Who. Don't worry, the authors do that in droves!) and I have enjoyed reading it again!

34.  Alexander McCall Smith La's orchestra saves the world.

Classic AMcS:  Heartfelt, witty, beautiful description, philosophising and a love story that you longed to happen throughout the book.  A beguiling heroine, interesting characterisation and includes reference to classical music and flutes:  I was bound to love it.
35.  Laura Ingalls Wilder Little house in the Big Woods
I loved the Anne of Green Gables series and in a sense this reminded me of those.  This is a classic child's book- it tells of life in a woods for a little girl a long time ago.  In an Enid Blyton-esque way, it was the description of food that really interested me (so sad!) and I loved how self-sufficient this family were and how they used, made and made do.  It really made me smile and imagine life for a little girl.

36. Laura Ingalls Wilder Little house on the Prairee
Likewise, I enjoyed the second book in the series.  I think that her Papa must have had great luck not to be eaten by a wolf or bear on many occasions- he must have been an amazing man!  Again, lovely description of family life:  I particularly liked thinking about all the tasks that Mama and Papa did on a daily basis!  They worked hard!

37.  Frank L. Baum Glinda of Oz.
I recently mentioned wanting to reread the Oz books again- this is the only one I have in my possession at the moment as I lent them to a little girl at church some years ago.  On second reading, I didn't find it as silly as I did the first time.  It is the last book that Frank L Baum wrote before he died and I believe it was published posthumously (he died in 1920).  It tells of how Ozma, the ruler of Oz went to quell a war between to of the strange groups of people who she had never met in the far-reaches of her kingdom of Oz with Dorothy.  The book reunites all the old favourites from all the Oz books and has an interesting storyline.  I think the thing that made me feel it was a bit silly the first time I read it was how you always know that Ozma and Dorothy will get out of every predicament- they seem invulnerable so nothing will hurt them so it lacks the suspense or worrying about what is going to happen. I suppose books were more tame for kids then but I found it lacking excitement.  However, still an imaginative read and if you love Oz, you'll forgive it these shortcomings.

38.  Noel Streatfield Ballet shoes for Anna.
I'm always SO excited to find a new Noel Streatfield book I haven't read and moreso in this case because I'd forgotten I'd bought it and for some reason, put it in my underwear drawer!!!!
The heroes of this book are three orphans who spent their life in Turkey and have to go and live in England with a mean Uncle who refuses to let Anna, the girl, continue her ballet lessons. The premise is that the 2 boys have to try and earn money for her lessons somehow.  Again, it had a difference to her books and yet that familiarity of the 'show biz' element and the grit and determination to succeed in the arts that characterise her other works.  Definitely worth a read if nothing but to laugh at the rebellious Gussy!

39.  Georgette Heyer Black sheep.
Again, finding another Georgette Heyer to read (in a charity shop is always exciting) is always a delight and finding one in our French cottage was fabulous!  Like the Streatfield, it contained the finest of Georgette Heyer's usual form but had a difference and a uniqueness.  Regency heroine meets Regency hero is the basic plot- but so fun and unconventional.  Definitely worth reading.

40.  James Herriott Every living thing.
As a child, I adored the TV show, All creatures great and small  which told the life of Yorkshire rural vet, James Herriott.  I subsequently read and adored all the other books he'd written.  This, possibly the last one, didn't fail to disappoint.  The anecdotes and stories of Herriot's veterinary life do not fail to touch, amuse and beguile on.  I was rolling around laughing at his tale of a pair of trousers he had been given that had been made for a corpulent man and he felt like he was going to explode with the heat in an important meeting!  I've had that feeling in clothing before- where you are just so hot but you can't do anything about it.  I found myself on the verge of tears when he consoled with those who lost pets and rejoiced with every victory in saving an animal.  This book as a lot of heart, and totally worth a read.  There is a great sense of the change of times and technology from the previous books and seeing the 'grown-up' Herriott family!  This is a beautiful read.

SO.... have I
a)  made you go to sleep
b)  made you want to read one (tell me which!)
c) made you totally bypass this post in your Googlereader!?
d) read something you've already read?!

2 Regents and a cat fest!

43. Sue Finden Casper- the travelling cat

I feel rather guilty about how I own this book. Well, we have a family friend and 2 years ago, she left a Christmas present at my house for me to give to my Grandad. Aforementioned friend, has a key to our house and lets herself in if we're not there if she wants to leave something for us. A year passed and somehow it was still at my house. Friend let herself in to leave Christmas presents for us and er-noticed it was still there.

It wasn't until I opened my Christmas presents from her that year, reading the tag saying, "You seemed too fond of this to give it to your Grandad so I thought you should keep it" that I realised she had found-out my forgetfulness- oops! What MUST she have thought of me!

This is a wonderfully heart-felt book. You sense just how much Sue loves her cat. It mainly tells the tale of how she received Casper, a strongly individual cat who liked to go a-wandering. This cat became a world-wide celebrity when it transpired that he travelled on a First bus in Plymouth for several years. The cat seemed to touch the hearts of everyone he ever met, including people in a Doctor's surgery. The book doesn't have a happy ending as people who live in an urban area with cats might guess but it is a wonderful tale- I strongly recommend you reading it! 44. Pamela Aidan An assembly such as this. The Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman trilogy part 1.

Oh dear, my penchant for Jane Austen spinoffs shows no sign of abating. I picked this up in a Hexham Charity shop. Out of all the Pride and prejudice spin-offs, this is by far the best I have read, particularly from the perspective of Mr Darcy. It is faithful to the original but with originality and sensitivity. You feel a lot more benevolent towards the early Mr Darcy as he seems an insensitive fool at the beginning of Ms Austen's original- one can understand why he acts the way he does in this. Read it, you wont be disappointed! And the best thing about it is it is a 3 part trilogy so I have 2 more parts to read- Amazon here I come!!!

45. Georgette Heyer These old shades

Another charity shop bargain, I am always delighted to find any offerings from Georgette Heyer. She is such a marvellous story-teller. I did wonder if any book could match up to the previous one I read which I loved. The heroine in this is a 19 year old French girl called Leonie who begins the book as an immature French page boy. He is strongly willful and quickly wins over the affection of the main male character, Justin, Duke of Avon who is known as 'Satan' in society due to his mercenary ways and lack of morals. It is an interesting tale as the pair of them are tamed by each other. There is excitement aplenty with an abduction by the villain of the story, a debut-ball, chases, journeys to the countryside, a shooting and a dramatic suicide! Once again, this wonderful author surprised me with her ingenuity and beguiling main characters I grow to love.

Have you read any of these? Would you?

Thanks to www.amazon.co.uk me old hearties- thank you for the images. (I just received 6 things through the post from Amazon I ordered last week- eek! But it was SO nice coming home to a different parcel each day! More Jane Austen!)

Books- catch up on madness!

Despite horrendous busyness, I've got quite a wealth of books to catch up on in terms of reviews. All of the ones I have read have been really interesting and poignant in their ways.
22. Georgette Heyer Cotillion
I LOVE Georgette Heyer. She really does write rather like Jane Austen I feel (except I am more aware of the darker sides of Regency society. ) This book is all the about the exploits of a young lady whose parents (one of shocking French parentage don'tchat know) died and lives with a crotchety old Uncle. The book begins as the old patriarch has tried to gather his other nephews with the news that he is to leave his fortune to the young lady only on condition that she marries one of her cousins. It transpires, she has always had a soft spot for cousin Jack, and the Uncle intends to push him to offer for her, but he alone doesn't turn up. She persuades the one cousin who she isn't repulsed by but who wont actually offer for her (he's a bit of a dandy corinthian, in a stylish way) to pretend he's offered for her and she accepts, so she can escape to London, with the hope that cousin Jack will be put out and will endeavour to win her hand.

However, it transpires that whilst Jack does intend to marry her eventually, he's a bit of a cad and he's courting other young ladies and gets involved in all sorts of awful schemes. Somehow along the way, she ends up falling for someone else who she didn't expect to!

I LOVED this book more than I have loved any other Georgette Heyer I've read before. I adore Freddie, the cousin who agrees to get engaged to her to help her and the story is really intriguing. Plus, the way she writes it is JUST how I would like the book to end. Another interesting insight into Regency London. If you like romance without too much smut, then this is for you. Also, Austenites, I would recommend.
Eat your heart out Mr Darcy, there's a new hero in town! (Mr Tilney, don't worry, you're still my favourite!)

23. Alison Prince My Story Henry the VIII's wives

Despite learning about the Tudors in year 9 at school, I didn't seem to know that much about Henry VIII's wives. Since I am moving to year 4 next year, when I saw these books in a lovely bookshop in Aldeburgh, I was intrigued to have a look at this and see if it was suitable for year 4. Right away, I would say that it is much too old for year 4 and I would probably consider this more suitable for year 8-9, 13-14 year olds. Even though this was a fictional account, it was obviously based on real people and I had NO idea how quickly Henry actually got through wives and the reasons he divorced, beheaded etc. Apparently, Katherine Parr wrote respected religious books. The narrator is a young girl who is approaching the age of being in court and we learn about Anne Boleyn through the diaries of a previous narrator, a friend of hers who was a lady in waiting to the queen and a relative who was a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon. I really recommend this as an intriguing read. How much is true I don't know, but I was quite shocked to read of the antics of his majesty, but also intrigued! If you like historical fiction based on real people, this is worth a read.

24. Michael Morpurgo Kaspar- Prince of cats

The thing I love about this significant children's author (and if you are a mum or dad, get your children to read his books- he is a REALLY good model of excellent story writing) is how he takes a gem of a real story or tale and tells a tale that you really believe could be true! This is set in the year 1912 or 1913 I believe, and a significant amount takes place in the Savoy and on board the Titanic. Throw in a Russian opera singer, a bellboy and a runaway American child and you have storytelling magic! A typical Morpurgo book, written in the first person, so he draws you in, with an animal playing a crucial role (in this case, Kaspar, cat of Opera singer), beautiful setting descriptions and a beguiling tale! 25. David Almond. Skellig

This is a seriously intense and creepy but WONDERFUL book. If you want to demonstrate how to write suspense then read this. I read it because I was studying it with my top guided reading group. A mysterious character, Skellig, what is he? He is found by our (1st person narrative again) main character in the garage of his new house. The character is worried by having moved house, a very sick baby sister and preoccupied parents. He discovers a new friendship with an unsual young lady and together they help restore the mysterious character Skellig to his full glory. Is he an angel? Read and find out. Amazing setting descriptions again, beautiful characterisations, I did shed a little tear reading this. Teenagers also study this book and it has become a film.

26. Alexander McCall Smith Espresso tales

I suddenly realised that I wasn't trying to read 52 authors this year so I have stupidly been starving myself from reading those tantalising Alexander McCall Smith books that I really wanted to read that have lined my shelf for over a year! Hurrah, can read them all mwa ha ha!
This is my first 44 Scotland street novel and I don't know why I was expecting a mystery novel but it is a contemporary account of different characters's muddled lives. The narrator and focus changes in each chapter between a 5 year old, a young trainee doctor, and various others. They lead such interesting lives! The great thing about this book is that it was published daily in an Edinburgh newspaper. Alexander McCall Smith is a genius in writing characters that you love and empathise with. Don't want to give anything away but highly addictive. And great if you put books down for a while!

26. Michael Morpurgo Cool!

Another classic from this ex children's Laureate, I was reading this with another guided reading group. Boys will like this as it is a fairly easy read and there is a little focus on football. Again, first person narrative, this is written from the point of view of a boy in a coma who is worried about having killed his dog. As the story unwraps, we learn more and more about him and his accident. All may not be what it seems with his dog.... I would recommend this for children aged around 8-10 with a reading level of around 3b/a if you know what I mean!