Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 52

A Light in the Window (by Jan Karon)

I’m so glad I decided to re-read Jan Karon’s ‘Mitford’ series. It’s gentle, heartwarming and inspiring - exactly the kind of thing for this rather depressing time of year. I re-read ‘At Home in Mitford’ in the middle of November, and have just finished the second book in the series. I last read ‘A Light in the Window’ in 2006. 

The last time I read this, I had a copy of the book with quite a chunk missing, but I’ve managed to acquire a full edition in the meantime, so have read it for the fi...

Sprig Muslin (by Georgette Heyer)

I have sufficient Georgette Heyer novels that I can re-read around ten to twelve each year, and then start over again when I’ve finished them.  She is undoubtedly my favourite writer of historical romance fiction, with authentic backgrounds and excellent characterisation.  One of her Regency era romances which I rate most highly is ‘Sprig Muslin’, which I last read in 2011. 

Sir Gareth Ludlow is the hero of this book, and he’s a likeable person from the start. A Corinthian, which means he dr...

The Chalet School and the Lintons (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

I'm slowly re-reading the 'Chalet School' books by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. I finished 'Exploits of the Chalet Girls' a month ago, and have just finished the tenth book in the series, 'The Chalet School and the Lintons', which I last read just over ten years ago. Or, depending on how you count them, the first half of the original book...
When the Chalet School books were republished in Armada paperback form, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, many of them were abridged. Some were quite severely abri...

View from a Bouncy Castle (by Adrian Plass)

I do like Adrian Plass’s writing. His books are a wonderful blend of honesty, humour and insights, and I like to re-read them all regularly. I hadn’t read ‘View from a Bouncy Castle’ for over thirteen years, so it was more than time for a re-read.

The slightly odd title is explained in a kind of prologue. Adrian Plass recounts seeing a children’s bouncy castle that allowed adults to get on, for a change. He describes how initial nervousness led to a kind of freedom, the abandoning of inhibit...

The Whole Town's Talking (by Fannie Flagg)

I read - and enjoyed - Fannie Flagg’s novel ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe’, five years ago, after having seen the excellent film that’s based on the book. But I doubt if I’d have tried any other of her novels; indeed, I didn’t realise she had written other books until ‘The Whole Town’s Talking’ was put on the local reading group list for January 2021. I ordered it from AwesomeBooks and have just finished reading it.

The book starts well. It introduces Lordor Nordstrom, a har...

Peril at End House (by Agatha Christie)

We have a large number of Agatha Christie books, but when I see another one at a church book sale or charity shop, I tend to buy them. That was the case with ‘Peril at End House’, which I acquired at the end of October, and have just finished reading. 

This is a novel featuring Hercule Poirot, after his theoretical retirement. But rather than being called in to a tricky case, he’s there at the beginning. He and his friend Hastings, who is the first person narrator of the book, are on holiday...

A Fresh Start (Short Stories)

A couple of months ago a friend gave me the book ‘A Fresh Start’, telling me that she thought I would like it. It’s a slim volume, containing ten short stories. Apparently there’s an agency that produces very short books to try to encourage people to read more. Not a problem I have, but I wanted something quick that I could put down easily in between chapters, so a book of short stories seemed ideal. 

The stories are by different authors, half of whom I’d heard of. I particularly like the no...

Lone Pine Five (by Malcolm Saville)

In my re-reading of Malcolm Saville’s ‘Lone Pine’ series for teenagers, I reached the fifth in the series, ‘Lone Pine Five’. The title simply means that it’s the fifth Lone Pine book - perhaps it was originally a working title, and nobody could think of anything better. It used to confuse me, because there are six Lone Piners in the book (or seven if Macbeth the Scottie dog is included). 

When I last read this book, almost twelve years ago, I had an abridged (and possibly updated) Armada pap...

God is Closer than you Think (by John Ortberg)

I do like John Ortberg’s writing. He’s an American Christian, and refers to himself an evangelical. But his theology and his style are far removed from the preachy, fundamentalist viewpoint that has unfortunately become common amongst many American evangelicals.

I first read ‘God is closer than you think’ in 2009, and liked it very much. But in more than a decade I had forgotten what it was about, so it was more than time for a re-read. I’ve read a chapter each day for the past ten days, and...

Memories of the Storm (by Marcia Willett)

I’m re-reading some of Marcia Willett’s novels, and came to ‘Memories of the Storm’, which I was given and read over ten years ago. I had no memory of the plot or the people when I started. Gradually one or two incidents came back to me as I read, but on the whole it was as if I were reading it for the first time - and I enjoyed it very much.

There are several important characters in this book, but it wasn’t too hard to remember who was whom. There’s Hester, for instance, who must be in her ...