Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 6

Miss Garnet's angel (by Salley Vickers)

(Amazon UK link) I had not heard of Salley Vickers until her book ‘Grandmothers’ was assigned for our local reading group nearly four years ago. I liked it very much, and put one of the author’s other books on my wishlist. I was given ‘Miss Garnet’s angel’ by a relative… for Christmas 2021. It’s taken me this long to decide to read it.
We meet Miss Julia Garnet shortly after her friend and flatmate Harriet died. Miss Garnet is an organised, staid kind of person who doesn’t really have any other fr...

Ruthless trust (by Brennan Manning)

(Amazon UK link) Back in 2008, I borrowed Brennan Manning’s book ‘Ruthless trust’ from a friend who recommended it. I quite liked it, and thought it well-written. But for some reason it didn’t particularly resonate or strike me as anything special.
However, I’m rereading a lot of books, and decided I would like to try again. So I put the book on my wishlist, and was given it for Christmas at the end of last year. I started reading it at the start of the month, and planned to read around one chapte...

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy

(Amazon UK link) In my gradual rereading of my collection of Maeve Binchy’s novels, I’m getting towards the end. I’ve just finished ‘Heart and soul’, which was first published in 2008. I acquired a hardback edition a few years later, and read the book in 2012. I liked it very much, but - as ever - had totally forgotten both the characters and the story.
The main setting for this book is a new health clinic being set up in Dublin. It’s supposed to educate heart patients about self-care: nutrition, ...

Caddy's world (by Hilary McKay)

(Amazon UK link) I have quite a few books by Hilary McKay on my shelves, most of which I haven’t read in over a decade. She’s a children’s author whom I only discovered in 2011, and I have loved all her books. My favourite series is the one about the Casson series. The first book written was ‘Saffy’s Angel’, but there’s a prequel, which was written later, called ‘Caddy’s world’.  I decided that this time I would read the books in chronological order, rather than order of publication.
I had totally...

Between the world and me (by Ta-Nehisi Coates)

(Amazon UK link) I had never heard of the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. He’s an American journalist and activist, apparently. This book was allocated for this month’s local book group, and I acquired it second-hand when I was in the UK last summer. So by the time I embarked on ‘Between the world and me’ I had entirely forgotten anything I had read about it.
Since most of our book club books are fiction, it took a few moments for me to realise that this is a non-fiction account, unusually written in the...

Cressida (by Clare Darcy)

(Amazon UK link) I’ve been enjoying re-reading my historical ‘Regency’ novels by Clare Darcy. I don’t have all her books, and they’re long out of print. So there’s no easy way to acquire the ones I’m missing. Nor can I get hold of new copies of the ones I have that are falling to pieces, which is the case with ‘Cressida’. I last read this in 2001 and had forgotten both the characters and the story. 
Cressida is an interesting young woman, though I’m not sure I ever entirely believed in her. She’s ...

Still crazy (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link) I have loved almost everything Adrian Plass has written since I first discovered his first wonderful ‘Sacred diary’ book back in the late 1980s. He is a very versatile writer, with novels, poetry and non fiction in a variety of genres. Underlying them all is his Christian faith, often with profound questions being asked. Yet he is never preachy or pushy.
I was delighted when I read that he had published another book, ‘Still crazy’, a few years ago. I waited until it was out in pap...

The hidden cottage (by Erica James)

(Amazon UK link) I’m slowly reading my way through my extensive collection of Erica James novels, which I’ve acquired over the past twenty-five year. I’m reading them roughly in the order in which they were written, and just finished re-reading ‘The hidden cottage’, which I read in 2014. Unsurprisingly, I had entirely forgotten the story and all the characters.
Mia is the main protagonist of this book. She’s in her fifties, and works creating and selling designer hats. She is married to Jeff, who’...

Shadow Doctor 2: the past awaits (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link) I so enjoyed rereading Adrian Plass’s unusual novel ‘The Shadow Doctor’ earlier in the week that I went straight onto its sequel, ‘Shadow Doctor 2: the past awaits’. I hadn’t remembered anything from it - I’ve only read it once before - but hoped it would answer some of the questions that were left open at the end of the first book.
It opens with Doc telling Jack that he’s going to be ‘stalking a lion’ later that day. Jack is still getting used to being Doc’s assistant, or colleag...

The Shadow Doctor (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link) The writer Adrian Plass is, in my opinion, extremely versatile. He’s best known, probably, for his satirical ‘Sacred diaries’ books which were very popular in the 1990s. I have read them several times, and still find myself laughing aloud at his self-deprecating and sometimes unexpected humour. 
But he’s also written thought-provoking short stories, some novels about church life, or family relationships. He’s also written articles, shared anecdotes, and explained parts of the Bibl...