Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 68

Jill the Reckless (by PG Wodehouse)

I have enjoyed reading PG Wodehouse’s humorous novels for over forty years, off and on . My favourites are the best-known ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ series, but I have liked most of the others that I have read too. A few years ago I was delighted to discover several of his out-of-copyright novels available free at Project Gutenberg. I downloaded quite a few, and have just finished reading ‘Jill the Reckless’.

Wodehouse has created an excellent heroine in the independent and wealthy Jill Mariner. W...

Happy and Glorious (by Hilary McKay)

I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have read by Hilary McKay in the past few years. So when I was at the library with my five-year-old grandson, and spotted ‘Happy and Glorious’, one of her books intended for younger children, I persuaded him to check it out.

I have spent the past couple of days reading this book aloud to my grandson. I had no idea what to expect - Hilary McKay is a talented author who writes across several different genres of fiction. This one turns out to be gently hum...

With This Hand (by Sally Quilford)

I wanted something to dip in and out of on my Kindle while travelling recently. A collection of short stories by Sally Quilford seemed to fit the bill nicely, so I started ‘With This Hand (and Other Stories of Romance)’. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect; this author writes in many different genres, from straightforward contemporary romances to historical romantic crime fiction.

There are notes at the front of most of the stories. Some merely state which magazine originally published the...

Sourcery (by Terry Pratchett)

Having decided to re-read my Terry Pratchett books, including the Discworld books in order, I reached the fifth one, ‘Sourcery’. Since we’re travelling at present I wasn’t planning to read it until we got home; then I spotted a copy on my son’s shelves. I didn’t remember much about the book, other than that I didn’t particularly like it. But I thought it would be good to pick up at odd moments, and would make a break from reading on my Kindle.

It was a little surprising to find that I re-rea...

Kilmeny of the Orchard (by LM Montgomery)

I wanted to read something light and not too long on a recent flight. I scrolled through my Kindle collection, and spotted LM Montgomery’s short novel ‘Kilmeny of the Orchard’. I read it in print form in 2006 but had entirely forgotten it. The book was first published in 1910 and is set in Canada.

The story, unusually for a woman writer of the era, has a man as its main protagonist. Eric is a young, likeable man who has just graduated from university. He comes from a wealthy family, and is p...

Janie of La Rochelle (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

I have been enjoying reading through the ‘La Rochelle’ series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. I had only read two or three of them previously, so was very pleased to have been able to acquire them all over the past couple of years. I have just finished reading ‘Janie of La Rochelle’, the sixth in the series (out of seven). I don’t recall having read this before, although it's possible that I read a hardback version as a teenager.

The book focuses, unsurprisingly, on Janie, youngest of the three Templ...

Best of Friends (by Cathy Kelly)

I’ve read three books by Cathy Kelly in the past year, and liked them all. She writes saga-style novels, mostly based in Ireland, about different women. So when I saw some of her books inexpensively at a church bookstall, I decided to buy two or three of them.

I have just finished reading ‘Best of Friends’. As with the other books by Cathy Kelly, there is rather a large cast of characters, and I found the first few chapters quite confusing. It wasn’t until I was almost half-way through the b...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (by JK Rowling)

In gradually re-reading the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling again, I reached the fourth book of the septology, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. It’s a long book, well over 600 pages, and when I first read it, it was my least favourite of the series. I recall telling someone that the first part is about an international quidditch match, the main part of the book about some tasks undertaken by four contestants for a major prize, and the end dark and depressing.

However I liked it bette...

Enriching your Prayers (by Markus McDowell)

From time to time I check for free downloads for my Kindle. Around a year ago, I downloaded an interesting looking short book called ‘Enriching your prayers’. I had never heard of Markus McDowell but am always willing to try something that sounds appealing, which has good reviews, and which is free.

The subtitle to this book is rather lengthy: ‘How to Study the Prayers of the Bible: A companion to the Praying Through the Bible series’. That explains why it’s free. This book is a general guid...

The Carousel (by Rosamunde Pilcher)

I do enjoy reading and re-reading the novels by the late Rosamunde Pilcher. She had such a talent for creating warm, believable people that I feel as if I’m saying goodbye to friends as I finish her books. I’ve been re-reading them for the third or fourth time over the past few years, and have just completed ‘The Carousel’. It’s a short book, less than 200 pages, but has always been one of my favourites.

It’s only nine years since I last read this book. I recalled the general storyline,...