March Books

[slemslempike]

Technically a bit early, but I won't finish what I'm reading tonight, as My Idea of Fun by Will Self is not my idea of a comforting bedtime read. I have changed the date to cheat.

March
The Penge Bungalow Murders - John Mortimer
Post Secret book
The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer
Nancy: The Life of Nancy Astor - Christopher Sykes
The Odd Women - George Gissing
Time and Tide - Edna O'Brien
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

I was sure I'd read more than this, but it seems that I really didn't. I have got about five books that I'm in various stages of though. I appear to be undermining my belief that how many books you read doesn't matter (apart from enabling graphs and tables), but more it's that there was a huge gap between the Post Secret book and the Grand Sophy, and I can't not have read in between then because what else would I have done? But apparently the answer is watch TV, which I enjoyed greatly and don't regret at all. Must relearn how to combine the two activities though.

The John Mortimer I picked up at the Chicklit swap, and was surprised quite how much I enjoyed it. I never remember between times that I do greatly enjoy crime books, and I don't think I've read one from a barrister's point of view rather than a detective before. Rumpole is rather wonderful, and I look forward to reading more.

Oh, The Grand Sophy! I was reading it on the train and kept poking Alice to tell her bits. She pulled a pistol from her muff! Sophy is now my favouritest heroine in all of fiction and I can't believe I haven't read any Georgette Heyer before. I've always been aware of her because she is so attached to girlsownyness, but somehow the jackets in the shop always put me off. I have been a fool. I love Sophy to death. I am going to reread the book as soon as I finish the others I am in the middle of to spur me on.

Nancy Astor had a fascinating life, and I feel a bit awful for not having realised that she was quite an ardent feminist, as I think I just saw 'Conservative' and went all modern on her. However, I would like to read a biography where the author says "as the writer knows" far less often. I also have the Collis biography at home, which I shall attempt at some stage. And reading that will hopefully let me feel all knowledgeable from having read most of the information already.

The Odd Women was brilliant and I intend to read more of him when I can. It was a little odd that the older sisters seemed to disappear for a huge chunk of the book when it appeared that they were going to be central early on, but all the characters were interesting, and Rhoda was very real, and I wish I could have been mentored by her. Time and Tide was sad. I like Edna O'Brien, but her characters make me feel frustrated because I can't go round to their houses and help.

I bought A Tale of Two Cities rather frantically in a bookshop in Istanbul as it was really cheap and I was running low. I don't like Dickens. The writing mostly, although occasionally there is a sentence that I reread with pleasure. He is not for me, though I did really like the atmosphere of revolutionary France.

Comments

[owl]

Oh, you liked Sophy!

(I have a Greasemonkey script that chooses a random icon whenever I post, and by serendipity it chose 'Heyer' this time!)

The new Arrow books editions have less blush-making covers—sort of random Regency art, but they also bear no relation to the contents.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

It's always good when something like that happens in tune with comments. I generally forget that I have an option to have different pictures though.

Sophy was wonderful, the kind of thing where I wish I was Holly and could wipe my brain to read it again.

[owl]

Btw, I am jediowl in a new guise, not a random user.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

It's a nice new name, I think.

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

Hurray! You liked Sophy! This pleases me greatly. And yes, ignore the jackets, as either they have very 60s ideas of Regency hair and make-up (some of the old paperbacks) or twee soft-focus paintings (the annoyingly large recent paperbacks). I quite like the ones with street scenes and little oval miniatures.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I have a 60s paperback, which I rather love for its strange hair. I quite like anachronisms when they are from a different time from now. I shall have to return to Morecambe and get the rest of the stack and luxuriate in them for a time.

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

Stack. Whole stack. *salivates* Not that I can complain, because that happened to me one time in Wellington and now I am all stocked up.

[coughingbear]

The Grand Sophy is one of my favourite heroines, so I'm always delighted to hear about someone else falling for her. And am very jealous that you still have all the rest of Georgette Heyer's books to read for the first time.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I am greatly looking forward to it. I might use them as rewards for doing some work, so that I get stuff done instead of wallowing happily.

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

I ADORE THE GRAND SOPHY. It's probably one of my favourite Heyers and I'm obsessed with pretty much all of them!

I saw you'd read it and got all anxious at the thought you might not have liked it and then all pleased that you did. Hurray!

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Dickens is the one author I get a bit pathetic about and say "well, I like the TV adaptations...!" I think he's MADE for TV because I rather like his plots but not his wordy long descriptions of things, so he works far better when you just get the characters giving out lines and can see all the background detail without him having to spell it all out.

Every time I see a TV adaptation I think "ooh, you know, I DO like Dickens." Then I try to actually read him and remember why I don't.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes, the plots would be rather gripping if they were completed in rather fewer words (though that would have scuppered the serializations somewhat).

[pisica.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend The Nether World as a follow-up Gissing. It's on Project Gutenberg, and Oxford World's Classics reprinted it.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll see if I can find an Oxford reprint, as I can't really do online reading of books. I mean to, and even get as far as going to the page sometimes, but then I suddenly find that I'm watching vids on youtube.

[anglaisepaon.livejournal.com]

Yay! for The Grand Sophy! That book always makes me want to get a monkey and name him Jacko.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I want to drive horses down London streets of ill repute. We should team up and re-enact the entire book.

[ex-humanfema327.livejournal.com]

i put a book on bookcrossing! or something.
do you use one of those sites where you record what you've been reading?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Where did you leave it?

I don't, I just post here. I tried using librarything briefly, but mostly of my books don't have isbns so it wasn't so useful, and I have my own catalogue on access.

[ex-humanfema327.livejournal.com]

Heh, i left it in my living room. But I am assured that S will leave it somewhere after she's finished it. That still counts, right? If you leave it with other people? It will travel further.

Library thing, that's what i was thinking off. Why haven't your books got isbns, are they too old? I put my reading list on my website, because i am a geek, and i fool myself into thinking people care. Though i do get a surprising number of emails saying 'what do you think of such and such, i see youre reading it'. So! If you want, i could put your acccess one online. Access has got three c's hasnt it?

[hunningham.livejournal.com]

How nice to be reading Heyer for the first time, and to be secure in the knowledge that there are lots more. I found them when I was about sixteen and, tho' still loved, all sense of discovery has long gone.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I am really pleased, it's ages since I had such a lovely discovery. And often I read things and wish that I'd read them when I was younger and could appreciate them in a different way, but this feels like exactly the right time to be reading them.