Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 54

At Home in Mitford (by Jan Karon)

As I was pondering which favourite author’s books to re-read over the next year or so, an image of Mitford came to my mind. This small-town village is filled with so many warm memories, and I knew it was time to pick up Jan Karon’s series yet again. Having just finished ‘At Home in Mitford’ for the third time, it’s very tempting to go straight on with the series, but I know from experience that I enjoy books all the more if I spread them out, reading others in between. 

I last read this wonderf...

The Beekeeper of Aleppo (by Christy Lefteri)

There are some books I would never have come across if it hadn’t been for the reading/discussion group I joined earlier in the year. Christy Lefteri is the daughter of Cypriot refugees, but I had never heard of her until her novel ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ was allocated for the November group meeting. I ordered it in plenty of time, but didn’t start reading it until a few days ago, and finished it earlier today.

It’s the story of a married couple from Aleppo in Syria, Nuri and Afra. We meet ...

The Secret of Grey Walls (by Malcolm Saville)

I am so enjoying my gradual re-read of Malcolm Saville’s ‘Lone Pine’ series. I first discovered the earlier books on my grandmother’s shelves when I was a child,  and acquired later books in Armada paperback form through the 1970s.  I used to re-read the entire series, one after another, every few years, and then every decade… but have decided, as with my last read-through, to re-read about one per month, interspersed with some new books and some I’m re-reading by other favourite authors.

Th...

Echoes of the Dance (by Marcia Willett)

Sometimes, when I first read a book I think it’s well-written, or quite pleasant, but nothing special. Then, on re-reading a decade or more later, I absolutely love it. That’s been the case with at least one of Marcia Willett’s character-based novels - and again on her book ‘Echoes of the Dance’, which I have just finished reading.  I first read it in 2008, and while I liked it reasonably well, it didn’t really grab me. This time, however, I found it engrossing and could hardly put it down....

A Pelican at Blandings (by PG Wodehouse)

I have quite a collection of PG Wodehouse books, some of which I have read several times; some which, as far as I know, I have never previously read. One of the latter category is ‘A Pelican at Blandings’, a book which I evidently picked up second-hand somewhere, perhaps in a charity shop. My paperback edition is rather falling to pieces, as I discovered when I picked it up a few days ago to read; but a bit of sellotape fixed the worst of the problems.

I had thought, for some reason, that th...

Cold Tangerines (by Shauna Niequist)

I have very much liked the other books I read by Shauna Niequist; the only one I was missing was ‘Cold Tangerines’. I managed to find it second-hand in August, and have just finished reading it. It’s written in short chapters, each one no more than five or six pages, so over the past couple of weeks I’ve read one or two sections each morning, as a kind of devotional. 

From the chronological point of view, I’ve read the author’s books in the wrong order. This is her first book, and charts par...

A Home from Home (by Veronica Henry)

I’m always pleased when I discover a new (to me) author whose books I like. One writer I discovered just a year ago was Veronica Henry. I very much enjoyed the first book I read by her, so I started adding more to my wishlist.  I’ve just finished reading ‘A home from home’, which I was given last Christmas.  

It’s a heart-warming character-based story, set mainly in Somerset. There are two families who have been divided by a long-standing feud.  This started when an entire plot of land and h...

The Chalet Girls in Camp (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

Last time I re-read my Chalet School books - the lengthy series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer, originally written for teenage girls - I missed out ‘The Chalet Girls in Camp’. That’s partly because I had just acquired a later book in hardback and was eager to read it; but also partly because I recalled finding this book rather dull.  So it was with a little reluctance as well as some curiosity that I picked it up to read this time. 

I had no memory at all of the story, other than that some of the Ch...

Men at Arms (by Terry Pratchett)

I’m slowly re-reading my way through Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series. There are some books I remember well, others where I have only the vaguest recall. I wasn’t particularly keen on starting ‘Men at Arms’, which is fifteenth in the series; for some reason I didn’t think I liked it all that much. I was never really a fan of the ‘Watch’ books when I last read them.  

Indeed, I don’t know when I last read ‘Men at Arms’.  I acquired it in 1995 and presumably read it then; I’m prett...

Unsheltered (by Barbara Kingsolver)

Many years ago I read Barbara Kingsolver’s best-known novel ‘The Poisonwood Bible’.  Although the writing was good, quite compelling in places, I found it a bit long-winded, and so much disliked the main character that I haven’t picked up any of her other books. Until now. ‘Unsheltered’ was scheduled for this month’s reading group novel, so I put it on my wishlist, and was given it for my birthday a few months ago.

Although it’s a long novel - over 500 pages - I didn’t start reading it until...