Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 66

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (by JK Rowling)

I’m so glad I decided to re-read JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series this year, at a rate of around one book per month. I have read others of my favourite authors too, and some books that were new to me. It was with a little trepidation that I embarked on the sixth volume, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’, a few days ago, as I could recall the dramatic - and traumatic - climax.

But now I’ve finished it, I am once again awed at the quality of the writing, and the way the author pulled together so...

Facing the Music (by Mary Sheepshanks)

I discovered Mary Sheepshanks (now known as Mary Nickson) nearly twenty years ago. I liked the novel I read by her and then gradually acquired all her others. I enjoyed them very much. But I’m only re-reading them for the first time now, at a rate of about one per month.

I first read ‘Facing the Music’ in June 2002, and have re-read it in the last few days. Although I had forgotten most of the storyline, I did recall a strong feeling that one main character was treated quite badly by the aut...

This is Going to Hurt (by Adam Kay)

I had never heard of Adam Kay. That’s not surprising, as ‘This is going to hurt’ was his first book. I suppose I saw it advertised on Amazon, or perhaps in someone’s home, shortly after it was published in 2017. Then I saw it bestseller lists, and award-winning books. I had no plans to buy it, until I was ordering some books on special offer earlier this year, and this one was just a couple of pounds…

I had gathered that this book is a semi-biographical and somewhat humorous diary of a junior...

Stormy Petrel (by Mary Stewart)

I started reading Mary Stewart’s light ‘romantic thrillers’ when I was a teenager, and have gradually collected them and re-read as an adult. In a charity shop in the UK a month or so back, I came across three of them which I didn’t think I had read, in a relatively new paperback edition. They were in excellent condition so it was not a difficult decision to decide to buy them.

I started reading ‘Stormy Petrel’ a couple of days ago. It was first published as late as 1991, so is not one I rea...

Inspired (by Rachel Held Evans)

I so enjoyed Rachel Held Evans’ book ‘Searching for Sunday’ a few years ago that I put her newer book ‘Inspired’ on my wishlist earlier in the year. I was given it for my birthday in April - and then learned, from her blog, that she was in hospital in an induced coma, after some seizures. A couple of weeks later, tragically for someone so young with two small children, she died.

I only knew of the author through sporadic reading of her blog, and from the biographical nature of the first book....

Regatta (by Libby Purves)

I am glad I decided to re-read my novels by Libby Purves this year. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed the ones I first read over fifteen years ago. However, over the past couple of days I re-read ‘Regatta’, which I first read back in 2004. And while I did like it, once I got into the story, I didn’t find it as moving or thought-provoking as some of Purves’ other novels.

The main character is Anansi, an eleven-year-old girl who has been in and out of council care for most of her life. Her moth...

April Lady (by Georgette Heyer)

I’m enjoying very much re-reading my Georgette Heyer books yet again, at a rate of around one per month. I hadn’t read ‘April Lady’ since 2012, and have just finished it. I don’t think I would class it as one of my favourites, but even my least favourite Heyer novels are still well-written and, in places, amusing.

This one is set, as most of this author’s historical fiction is, in Regency England. It features 18-year-old Nell, who has been married for about a year to Giles, Lord Cardross. Gi...

The Accidental Wife (by Rowan Coleman)

I had not heard of Rowan Coleman when I spotted a couple of her books for sale inexpensively on a church bookstall. I had a quick glance at the blurb on the back and thought they would appeal. I’ve just finished reading one of them, ‘The Accidental Wife’, and - slightly to my surprise - I enjoyed it very much.

The story is about two women in their early thirties, Catherine and Alison. We meet them separately in the first chapters of the book, but it quickly becomes clear that they were best f...

Wyrd Sisters (by Terry Pratchett)

I started re-reading Terry Pratchett’s excellent ‘Discworld’ series, interspersed with other books by favourite authors, back in January. I had entirely forgotten that I had the same laudable aim about ten years earlier, although I only reached the seventh book in the series - six years later - before I gave up with that system.

However, Pratchett’s books can be re-read frequently, so it’s not a problem that I last read ‘Wyrd Sisters’, sixth in the series, at the start of 2016. I remembered...

Janie Steps In (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

Although I read a couple of the ‘La Rochelle’ books by Elinor M Brent-Dyer as a teenager, and managed to acquire one or two of them a few years ago, it wasn’t until last year, with the help of an online sales forum, that I managed to get hold of the rest of the books - seven in all. I’ve been reading them in order this year, about one per month.

I finally picked up ‘Janie of La Rochelle’ a couple of days ago, and have just finished it. It makes an excellent finish to the series, introducing...