Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 46

Lone Pine London (by Malcolm Saville)

I’m thoroughly enjoying re-reading Malcolm Saville’s ‘Lone Pine’ series now that I have them all in either hardback, or the more recently published ‘Girls Gone By’ edition. While I’m very thankful that Armada published these books inexpensively in the 1970s and 1980s, enabling me to read them regularly, I had no idea until fairly recently that some of them were quite significantly abridged. 

I’m also a tad surprised to realise that it’s probably twenty-five years since I last read ‘Lone Pine...

Jingo (by Terry Pratchett)

On the whole I am enjoying re-reading Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series, some of which I haven’t read in over twenty years. ‘Jingo’ is one of them.  We probably acquired it some time in 1998, which is when the paperback edition was first published, and I must have read it, either to myself or out loud to my sons, before I began this blog in April 1999.  I certainly haven’t read it since. I didn’t remember it as being particularly interesting, but then I had totally forgotten everything t...

Working Wonders (by Jenny Colgan)

On the whole, I have liked the books I’ve read by Jenny Colgan. They’re light women’s fiction, often based around some kind of food shop or other small village establishment. So when I saw ‘Working Wonders’ at a church book sale towards the end of last year, I picked it up. It’s been on my to-be-read shelf until I picked it up to read a few days ago.

It starts well enough.  Arthur and his girlfriend Fay are getting up, and clearly not getting along very well. They don’t seem to communicate, ...

The Double Life of Anna Day (by Louise Candlish)

I decided to start re-reading my novels by Louise Candlish, most of which I have pretty much forgotten after a period of a decade or so.  I previously read ‘The Double Life of Anna Day’ in 2010, so had no recollection of the characters, and only a vague memory of the storyline as it progressed.

It’s narrated in the first person by Anna, a young woman in her early thirties. She’s quite a career-minded person, who works in advertising sales for a newspaper. She’s a team leader, and gets involv...

A New Song (by Jan Karon)

I am thoroughly enjoying re-reading Jan Karon’s ‘Mitford’ series about Father Tim, an Anglican priest in a small town in the United States. Mitford is fictional, but I gather it’s supposed to be in North Carolina on the East Coast. I last read ‘A New Song’ in 2006, and all I remembered about it was that it was set somewhere other than Mitford. 

The book opens as Tim and his wife Cynthia are trying to organise their house and pack for their journey to Whitecap Island, where he’s about to take...

The Silence of the Girls (by Pat Barker)

I’d never heard of Pat Barker, although I gather she’s won several awards for her novels. ‘The Silence of the Girls’ was shortlisted for a prize, but I doubt if I’d have come across it, but for our local reading group. It was assigned for this month’s meeting, so I duly acquired it. 

I should have guessed from the cover that it’s set in Ancient Troy - modern-day Turkey.  I knew some of the relevant history from the days when I studied Latin and Ancient Greek at secondary school, although I f...

The New Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

In my gradual re-read through of Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s ‘Chalet School’ series, I’ve reached ‘The New Chalet School’, which is thirteenth in the original series. Until a couple of years ago, I had this in Armada paperback form only - not abridged, but divided into two books: ‘The New Chalet School’ and ‘A United Chalet School’, which I last read over ten years ago. 

I was very pleased to be able to acquire a hardback of the whole book, which therefore flowed as the author originally intended,...

Letters from the Past (by Erica James)

I have liked all the novels I’ve read by Erica James over the past twenty years or so, and am always pleased when I learn that she’s published a new one.  I put ‘Letters from the Past’ on my wishlist as soon as it was out in paperback, and was very pleased to receive a copy for my birthday a couple of months ago.

Most of the story is set in 1962. First we meet Evelyn, a woman who is probably in her early forties, with twin nineteen-year-old children whom she’s hoping to hear from soon. We qu...

The Toll-Gate (by Georgette Heyer)

When I re-read my Georgette Heyer historical novels, I tend to put off reading ‘The Toll Gate’. So I hadn’t read it since 2008. I was a bit reluctant to pick it up, as I didn’t remember it with particular fondness. But finally I decided I’d try it again… and have just finished it in two days. 

Although I did remember a very violent and unpleasant scene towards the end of the book, and also the beginning - where a young man takes over running a toll gate, after its regular employee vanishes -...

The Witch of Blackbird Pond (by Elizabeth George Speare)

I had never heard of the author Elizabeth George Speare, although she was a popular American writer in the latter half of the 20th century. I would probably never have come across her book ‘The Witch of Blackbird Pond’ by myself, despite it having been a Newbery award winner.  It’s a book for older children set in the late 17th century in the United States, which isn’t a genre that generally appeals to me. However some young friends had just read it and thought I would enjoy it.  

It took m...