Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 60

The Grey King (by Susan Cooper)

The Grey King is fourth in Susan Coopers five-book series, The Dark is Rising. I dont recall whether I read this before, I know I read some of the series over twenty years ago, and that my sons liked them very much as teenagers. But its so long ago that I had entirely forgotten the storylines, and its possible that I have never previously read this particular volume.

The Grey King mainly features Will, a young teenager who was introduced in the second of the books, which (like the entire...

Louder than Words (by Andy Stanley)

I had not heard of Andy Stanley, although I gather hes quite a prolific Christian writer in the United States. He is also a pastor. I might never have discovered his writing had it not been for the book Louder than Words which I spotted on a church book stall a couple of months ago. The cover appealed to me, the blurb on the back sounded interesting, so I bought it. Ive been reading it over the past couple of weeks, and have found it quite challenging.

The subtitle of Louder than Words is The...

Faro's Daughter (by Georgette Heyer)

I love re-reading my Georgette Heyer historical novels, and do so regularly. Its ten years since I last read Faros Daughter, so I was looking forward to reading it again. I vaguely recalled the story, but had forgotten most of the details.

Deborah Grantham is the heroine of this book, and shes quite an unusual heroine, even for Heyer. Shes lively, courageous and outspoken, as so many of this authors ladies were, unusually for the era. But Deb is not one of the more typical upper class ladies...

A Spot of Bother (by Mark Haddon)

I am rather shocked to see that its nearly twelve years since I read Mark Haddons excellent and unusual novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I liked it very much, and its one of those books that isnt easily forgotten. So when I saw A Spot of Bother by the same author at a church book sale a few months ago, it was not a difficult decision to spend 50 cents to buy it.

However, I didnt find it nearly as interesting or enjoyable. Each chapter is very short and focuses on the...

The Venetian House (by Mary Nickson)

I loved Mary Nickson/Sheepshanks books the first time I read them, and have thoroughly enjoyed re-reading them over the course of the past six or seven months. Ive come to the end, and have just finished reading The Venetian House, which I first read in 2008. Its so long ago that I had entirely forgotten the storyline.

Victoria is the main character. We meet her briefly as a child, in a prologue that introduces her along with her cousin Guy and his best friend Richard. Theyre staying in...

The Mysterious Mr Quin (by Agatha Christie)

We have quite a collection of Agatha Christie books, most of them picked up inexpensively from second-hand shops. Ive read the majority, but not all of them. One of the ones I had not previously read is The Mysterious Mr Quin.

I realised quickly that instead of being a full novel, this book is a collection of twelve short stories. The author mentions in the foreword that they were not written as a series; instead she wrote them as one-off stories, over quite a long period. What they have in...

He Still Moves Stones (by Max Lucado)

Although I had come across many quotations from Max Lucado over the years, I had not read any of his books until recently. I acquired four of them from a friend who was having a clear-out, and mostly liked the first one I read, at the end of last year. Ive just finished reading He Still Moves Stones.

I liked this volume considerably better than the first. The theme of the book is bruised reeds and smouldering wicks, with the book subtitle being Everyone needs a miracle. The introduction...

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food (by Cathy Bramley)

I have very much liked the other novels Ive read by Cathy Bramley, so I added a few more to my wishlist over a year ago. I was given The Plumberry School of Comfort Food for my birthday a year ago, and finally read it in the past few days.

Verity is the main character in this book. She narrates the story, and I found her increasingly likeable as the book progressed. We meet her in various situations in the first chapter, which is quite action-packed for a light womens fiction read. Verity is...

Acting Up (by Libby Purves)

I enjoyed reading Libby Purves novels the first time around, fifteen or more years ago, and Ive been enjoying re-reading them in the past year or so. But Acting Up didnt particularly grab me when I read it in 2005, and although its a good story, well-written, it didn't appeal to me any more while re-reading in the past few days.

I think the problem is that neither of the two main characters really interested me. Callum and Susie both work in the army, which I have no interest in at all. They...

The Obituary Writer (by Ann Hood)

I would probably never have come across Ann Hood or her novel The Obituary Writer, had I not overheard some folk at a church book sale talking about a local reading group, where they had discussed some books I had very much liked. Out of curiosity I enquired about it and was warmly invited, as well as being issued with a list of books to be read each month for the rest of the year.

One of the aims of this group is for members to read books they would not normally read, and as thats something...