Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 49

By My Side (by Alice Peterson)

I have been enjoying and appreciating afresh the novels by Alice Peterson, re-reading after a decade or so. She’s an excellent writer with a good sense of characterisation and realistic dialogue, and she tells stories using unusual scenarios, sometimes: typically involving people with either physical or mental disabilities. 

I first read ‘By my side’ back in 2013, so a little less than eight years ago, but I’d almost entirely forgotten what it was about. I did remember some of it, as I read ...

Maid (by Stephanie Land)

I had never heard of Stephanie Land, and probably would have continued in my ignorance, had it not been that her biographical book ‘Maid’ was listed as this month’s read for our local reading group. I managed to acquire it from the Awesome Books site last year, and have been reading it over the past few days. I finished a few hours before the reading group met. 

It’s hard to know what to say about it without sounding judgemental, and that’s not intended at all - at least, not of the author’s...

The Apple of His Eye (by Bridget Plass)

Although her husband Adrian is better known, Bridget Plass is an excellent writer too. She hasn’t published many books and most are out of print. But her first one, ‘The Apple of His Eye’ is still available; it’s one I read every few years during Lent, and I appreciate it very much each time.  The last time I read it was in 2014. 

There’s a picture on the front representing the Prodigal Son being welcomed by his father, as a parable for ordinary people being welcomed by God - and at the same...

These High Green Hills (by Jan Karon)

I’m very much liking my re-read of Jan Karon’s delightful ‘Mitford’ series. They’re set in the fictional small town of Mitford, which is apparently set in the hills of North Carolina, on the East coast of the United States. I’m re-reading the books in chronological order, which means that ‘These High Green Hills’ is the fourth of the series. I last read it in 2006 and didn’t remember anything much about it. 

Father Tim Kavanagh, the Anglican priest, has been married for a few months to his w...

Bo's Café (by John Lynch, Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol)

I remember when we acquired ‘Bo’s Cafe’ a decade or so ago, I knew very little about the authors (John Lynch, Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol). I can’t say I know any more since then, but they worked collaboratively on this book as part of the TrueFace Ministry. I had only vaguely remembered the story, and since it's over ten years since I read it, thought it time to re-read.

It starts with an unexpected counter in a pub - or a bar, as they’re known in the United States. The narrator, a young ...

New House at the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

I first discovered Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s ‘Chalet School’ books as a young teenager, browsing the shelves at my grandmother’s house. During my teenage years I re-read her books each year, and also discovered later books in my school library. And as an adult, I have re-read them all, sometimes randomly and sporadically, but more recently in a more organised way.

I’ve just finished ‘New House at the Chalet School’, which is eleventh in the series, and for the first time I’ve read it in the ful...

Plain Christianity (by JB Phillips)

JB Phillips was a fairly well-known Christian speaker and writer back in the 1950s. He was also an early translator of the New Testament into modern English.  His books, which are mostly quite small volumes, seem to appear on almost every Christian bookshelf. I have read his classic ‘Your God is too Small’, more than once, but don’t think I had ever read ‘Plain Chrisitanity’; I don’t even know how - or when - we acquired it. 

I decided to read it about ten days ago, having seen it mentioned ...

A Ghost of a Chance (by Bill Crider)

I’ve never heard of Bill Crider, who was apparently quite a prolific writer of American crime fiction. I doubt if I would ever have picked up one of his books, but a friend said she had read ‘A Ghost of a Chance’ and thought it quite a good light read. She said she wasn’t going to read it again, so I put it on my to-read shelf, and decided to try it a few days ago.

Sheriff Dan Rhodes is the main character in this book; I gather there is a whole series of books featuring him, so perhaps it’s ...

Lady of Quality (by Georgette Heyer)

I love re-reading my Georgette Heyer historical romance novels. I discovered them in my late teens, and have acquired most of them, second-hand, over the years. I have to ration myself to no more than one a month, so I always have some which I haven’t read for at least eight or nine years. But they’re the ultimate in comfort reading. 

I last read ‘Lady of Quality’ in 2012, and had only the vaguest memory of the characters and plot, although it quickly came back to me as I started reading. An...

The Neglected Mountain (by Malcolm Saville)

I first came across the ‘Lone Pine’ series by Malcolm Saville when I found the earliest books on my grandmother’s shelves as a child. I managed to collect a few, and then as a teenager gradually acquired the re-published Armada paperback versions, not realising they were abridged. ‘The Neglected Mountain’ was one I particularly liked; I last read it in 2009. I was pleased to have reached it again in my current re-read of the series, now that I have a full ‘Girls Gone By’ edition. 

The story...