Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 64

A Cup of Comfort: Women of the Bible

Every so often I browse the free books available for the Kindle, and download a selection that look interesting. One of those a while ago was called ‘A Cup of Comfort: Women of the Bible’. I had not realised that there is a whole series of books in the ‘Cup of Comfort’ category, many of which have been compiled by the editor, James Stuart Townsend.

It looked like an interesting book to read throughout the year. There are dated ‘devotional’ readings, each of them not much more than a page...

Friday's Child (by Georgette Heyer)

I love re-reading my Georgette Heyer novels. I was delighted to realise that it was over eleven years since I last read ‘Friday’s Child’, which has always been one of my favourites. I remembered the general story, of course, and the conclusion, but had forgotten much of the plot detail.

The heroine of the book is little Hero Wantage, an orphan who has been brought up by her rather unpleasant aunt. She is now seventeen, and her aunt is going to send her to be a governess in Bath. Hero is very...

Guards! Guards! (by Terry Pratchett)

A few years ago I thought I would (gradually) re-read Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series, but I stopped after the seventh. This is possibly because I looked at the eighth - ‘Guards! Guards!’ - and had a vague memory of not much enjoying it.

We acquired this book back in 1996 and I’m sure I read it soon afterwards, but it’s possible that I have not re-read it at all - and my memories of books read over twenty years ago are often wrong. Sometimes, too, my tastes change over the years...

And Jesus Will be Born (by Adrian Plass)

I thought I had all the published books by Adrian Plass, who is my favourite living British Christian writer. So I was a bit surprised when I spotted his book ‘And Jesus will be born’, subtitled ‘a collection of Christmas poems, stories and reflections’, in a box of books which a relative was giving away. So, naturally, I acquired it and decided to read it, a few pages at a time, during some of December.

It turns out that it’s not a new book as such; most of the items in the collection have...

West End Girls (by Jenny Colgan)

I’ve read quite a few novels by Jenny Colgan over the past few years. They’re not the greatest literature, but on the whole I have liked them. They tend to be light-hearted, featuring likeable people with satisfactory endings. So when I saw ‘West End Girls’ in a church book sale, I decided to buy it. I thought it would make undemanding reading at a busy time.

Unfortunately, I found it rather too trite and unrealistic. The story is about the adult non-identical twins Penny and Lizzy, who have...

Jo of the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

I started my current full reread-through of Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s lengthy Chalet School series just over a month ago, with ’The School at the Chalet’. I’ve now finished the second in the series, ‘Jo of the Chalet School’, which follows on from it, covering the second and third terms of the newly formed school for girls in Austria. I last read this book in 2009, and had mostly forgotten it.

The first chapter is perhaps a tad dull; we meet twelve-year-old Jo, irritating her slightly older...

In the Eye of the Storm (by Max Lucado)

A friend had acquired several books which she didn’t plan to keep, so I had a quick browse through and picked up a few by Max Lucado. I hadn’t previously read any of his books in full, although I have often seen quotations by him, on a calendar, or social media. I usually like what he says, so thought a few of his books would add nicely to our collection of Christian books.

‘In the Eye of the Storm’ is a very light-weight read, designed for a general audience. It contains many thoughts and...

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (by Gail Honeyman)

I’m not usually a fan of literary fiction, or unexpected best-sellers. So although I saw Gail Honeyman’s debut novel ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ advertised several times a couple of years ago, I didn’t think it would appeal. However I then read several positive reviews from people whose opinions I respect, and I also spotted it on very special offer from Amazon in the spring. So I decided to try it.

The book sat on my to-be-read shelf for many months but I finally picked it up a...

Over Sea, Under Stone (by Susan Cooper)

I first heard of Susan Cooper when my sons, aged 11 and 9, were given a copy of ‘Over Sea, Under Stone’ by a family whose children had grown up. As far as I remember, I read it aloud to them - a habit we continued until the older one left home - and we liked it so much that we managed to find copies of the other four books in the ‘Dark is Rising’ sequence.

However I had not read them again, although my sons re-read them more than once. But when I realised that I had entirely forgotten the...

Picking up the Pieces (by Mary Sheepshanks)

I do like Mary Sheepshanks’ novels! She only wrote four under this name, and another two under the name of Mary Nickson. I’m re-reading them at the rate of about one a month, and just finished ‘Picking up the Pieces’. I had no idea, when I first read it in 2001, that it’s a sort of sequel to ‘A Price for Everything’. It doesn’t involve the same main characters, but some of them reappear in more minor roles.

Kate, a 55-year-old grandmother, is the main protagonist of this story. Back...