Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 30

Going Postal (by Terry Pratchett)

I was quite looking forward to reaching ‘Going Postal’ in my gradual re-read of the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series. It’s one of the books I read aloud to my teenage sons in 2005, having bought it in hardback soon after publication, and I recalled liking it very much.

I had even remembered what happened in the first chapter - a very dramatic opening to the book - which results in the condemned crook Moist von Lipwig being appointed as the new Postmaster General for the Ankh M...

Grace Choices (by Jeff Lucas)

Since it’s been awhile since I first read my collection of Jeff Lucas books, I’m slowly re-reading some of them, and liking them just as much this time around. The one I’ve been reading over the past couple of weeks is ‘Grace Choices’, a book I first read in 2017, but I hadn’t remembered anything much about it, except that it was a bit more serious than some of the other books by this author.

‘Grace Choices’ is subtitled, ‘Walking in step with the God of grace’, which is quite a claim to make. B...

The Long Weekend (by Veronica Henry)

I read a few books by Veronica Henry a few years ago, and liked them very much. So I added a few more to my wishlist. One of them, which I was given for Christmas 2020, is ‘The Long Weekend’. It sat on my to-be-read shelf for over two years - I’m not entirely sure why - but I finally picked it up to read a few days ago.  

It’s a novel set over the course of a long bank holiday weekend - with a few flashbacks into the past - but it involves rather a large cast of characters. What links them is a ...

Morgan's Passing (by Anne Tyler)

I’m re-reading the novels I’ve acquired, over the years, by Anne Tyler. She’s an American novelist whose work I was first introduced to about three decades ago when we lived in the United States for a couple of years. I very much like her quirky style and her way with words, but recall almost nothing about any of the books. I last read ‘Morgan’s Passing’ in 2002, although apparently I didn’t review it afterwards. 

The novel opens with a village fair, and a puppet show. The children are getting a...

This is how it Always is (by Laurie Frankel)

It’s only a little over two years since I read Laurie Frankel’s novel ‘This is how it always is’.  I thought it a wonderful book, which covered some significant contemporary issues with empathy, poignancy and some humour too. I recommended it as a good discussion starter for our local book group, and it was allocated for this month.

Since I had read the book so recently, and recalled the basic plot and characters, I wasn’t planning to read it again prior to the meeting. But on Saturday, after fi...

Other People's Secrets (by Louise Candlish)

I’m glad I decided to re-read the novels I’ve acquired by Louise Candlish. Her writing is excellent, and while some of her more recent books are very tense, the older ones are a bit gentler. The plotting is still extremely well crafted, and the characters well-drawn, and once I get into any of her books they become quite difficult to put down.

I’ve just finished reading ‘Other People’s Secrets’, which I previously read nearly nine years ago. I had totally forgotten the storyline, and all the peo...

The Powerful Purpose of Introverts (by Holley Gerth)

I don’t remember where I came across a recommendation for the book ‘The Powerful Purpose of Introverts’. It’s not the kind of title that would usually appeal to me, and I had not heard of the author, Holley Gerth. However, I must have seen something about it that persuaded me to put it on my wishlist. I was given it for Christmas, and started reading it a couple of weeks ago. 

Had I seen the subtitle when I decided I’d like this book, I might have been put off entirely. ‘Why the World needs YOU ...

Home to Witchend (by Malcolm Saville)

I have very much enjoyed revisiting Malcolm Saville’s ‘Lone Pine’ series for teenagers over the past two-and-a-half years. I’ve read one book every month or so, interspersed with other books, rather than all twenty consecutively. I have just finished the 20th and last in the series, ‘Home to Witchend’, which I last read at the end of 2010, just over twelve years ago. 

My edition of this book is an Armada one, but as far as I understand it, it was published like this - on the front it claims to b...

The Shock of the Fall (by Nathan Filer)

I often pick up interesting-looking books at church book sales, and they then sit on my to-be-read shelf for months, sometimes years. That was the case with ‘The Shock of the Fall’, a book I bought in March 2021, and have only just read. I had never heard of Nathan Filer, and while the front cover looks intriguing, glittery and inspiring, it appealed less when I realised it wasn’t anything to do with the ‘fall’ of mankind as documented in Genesis. 

However, I’m determined to read through my unre...

The Quiet Gentleman (by Georgette Heyer)

After re-reading some of Georgette Heyer’s 20th century crime fiction novels last year, I decided to return to my more normal Heyer diet, that of her historical romances, for which she is better known. I decided to start with ‘The Quiet Gentleman’ since I hadn’t read it since 2015, even though I recalled that it wasn’t one of my favourites.

I had entirely forgotten the characters when I started this. Gervase, the new Earl,  is the hero, the ‘quiet gentleman’ of the title. His father died a year ...