Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 7

A million miles in a thousand years (by Donald Miller)

(Amazon UK link) I very much liked the books by Donald Miller when I first read them, finding them quirky and a bit different from most Christian writing. I reread his best-known ‘Blue like jazz’ in 2021; it’s semi-autobiographical as well as having some honest, thought-provoking comments about faith. I then re-read ‘Searching for God knows what’ last year, but didn’t like it as much as I had the first time, although I thought the second half well worth reading.
At the start of this month, I embar...

The new mistress at the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link) In my gradual meandering through Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s lengthy Chalet School series, I was pleased to reach one which I recalled liking very much. ‘The new mistress at the Chalet School’ is 37th in the original series, and follows on from ‘A problem for the Chalet School’, which I reread in April. 
It’s nearly ten years since I last reread ‘New mistress…’, and I had forgotten a lot of the detail. I have a hardback edition that my mother acquired many years ago. Kathie Ferrars is t...

The magician's nephew (by CS Lewis)

(Amazon UK link) It's been a long time since I last reread the Narnia series by CS Lewis, which I have loved since childhood. I’ve dipped into some of the books from time to time, and read individual ones. But I decided it was time to reread all seven. I know the order is controversial. And I absolutely believe that if one is reading these books for the first time, they should be read in publication order. That means starting with ‘The lion, the witch and the wardrobe’, which is probably the best...

The Paris apartment (by Lucy Foley)

(Amazon UK link) I hadn’t heard of Lucy Foley, although she's apparently a best-selling author. Most likely I would not have picked up her thriller ‘The Paris Apartment’, as that’s not my usual preferred genre of reading. But it was allocated for this month’s book club, and I was able to find it inexpensively for my Kindle. So I’ve been reading it over the past week or so.

There’s a dramatic start to the book.  Jess, a young woman travelling on her own, arrives at her brother’s apartment block in ...

Whitethorn Woods (by Maeve Binchy)

(Amazon UK link) In my gradual re-reading of most of Maeve Binchy’s novels, I reached ‘Whitethorn Woods’.  I last read it  in 2008, so it’s not surprising that I had forgotten the stories and the characters. I say ‘stories’ rather than ‘story’, because this is a series of loosely connected character cameos rather than a conventional novel. 
The opening section introduces Father Bryan Flynn, the curate - or assistant priest - at the Catholic church in a small Irish town called Rossmore. In his pari...

Faith in the fog (by Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link) It’s nearly ten years since I first read ‘Faith in the fog’ by Jeff Lucas. So it was definitely time for a re-read. I very much appreciate this author’s books. He works in both the USA and the UK and is familiar with cultures of both. He’s a pastor of a big church in Colorado, but not a hardline right-wing fundamentalist. He writes well, with some humour at times, and a good number of relevant anecdotes.
‘Faith in the fog’ is an honest look at how we can sometimes stumble about, f...

Apple Bough (by Noel Streatfeild)

(Amazon UK link) After reading quite a tense - and lengthy - novel, it was a relief to settle down to one of my favourite children’s books by Noel Streatfeild. I have loved her writing since I was about nine or ten, and reread my collection of her books regularly. She’s best known for ‘Ballet shoes’, now considered a classic, but there are two or three of her other books which I like even more. 
I last read ‘Apple Bough’ in the summer of 2016, but had forgotten the bulk of the story. I knew it was...

Keeping Faith (by Jodi Picoult)

(Amazon UK link) I know that a book by Jodi Picoult is likely to be quite a tense read, difficult to put down. But I was still a bit surprised to learn that it’s been over six years since I picked up ‘Keeping Faith’ at the local church book sale. That’s a long time to be on my to-read shelf…
It’s a long book, too, over 450 pages. But I have finished reading it in just three days. The writing is excellent, the story gripping, and I had no idea where the plot was going, or how it would end. 
Mariah i...

Regina (by Clare Darcy)

(Amazon UK link) It’s been interesting re-reading my small collection of Regency romance novels by Clare Darcy. She’s the closest writer I’ve come across to Georgette Heyer’s brilliance, but it’s been a long time since I read any of her books.  I’ve just finished ‘Regina’, which I last read towards the end of 1999. 
Unsurprisingly, in the intervening twenty-five years I had entirely forgotten the plot and the characters. So it was as if I were reading a new (to me) book. The main character is a yo...

The real Katie Lavender (by Erica James)

(Amazon UK link) It’s twelve years since I read Erica James’ novel ‘The real Katie Lavender’. So, unsurprisingly, I had forgotten both the plot and the characters. On the whole I like this author’s novels - I keep collecting them - but some, in my view, are much better than others. I hadn’t remembered this as one of my favourites, but started it, a few days ago, with an open mind.
It’s quite a dramatic opening. Katie, who is thirty, thinks she’s immune from shocks. Her beloved father died a few ye...