Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 9

A spark of light (by Jodi Picoult)

(Amazon UK link) I don’t remember how I acquired the book ‘A spark of light’ by Jodi Picoult. But it’s been on my ‘to-read’ shelf for at least a couple of years, so I decided it was time to read it. I knew it would likely touch on relevant contemporary issues, and possibly contain some tension. I also knew that it would most likely be very well-written.
I was a little tired when I read the first section, and found it a tad confusing as there are so many characters. It opens by describing ‘The Cent...

Promises, promises (by Erica James)

(Amazon UK link) I’m glad I decided to re-read my collection of Erica James novels. She has quite a gift of characterisation, and a good pace to her writing. She usually avoids ‘strong’ language, and scenes of intimacy and some of her books are quite moving.
It’s nearly thirteen years since I read ‘Promises, promises’, and I had entirely forgotten both the people and the storyline. I found it quite readable, despite being a bit over-informal in places, and finished it in just a couple of days. Yet...

A Genius at the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link) When I last read Elinor M Brent-Dyer's book ‘A Genius at the Chalet School’ in 2015, I only had the paperback edition, which contains just the first half of the original. So immediately afterwards I re-read the second half, published in Armada as a sequel, ‘Chalet School Fete’. Since then, I had the good fortune to acquire several of the series in hardback, courtesy of a relative whose late aunt had collected some of the books. 
Apparently the book wasn’t abridged at all when it w...

The Sound of Music (Trapp Family Singers) (by Maria von Trapp)

(Amazon UK link) ‘The Sound of Music’ is the title of the book which inspired the well-known film. I believe it was originally entitled ‘The Trapp Family Singers’, then changed in the 1960s due to the popularity of the film. I’m pretty sure I read the book - or at least dipped into it - at some point, but it was probably at least three decades ago. It has been sitting on our shelves, and I thought it would be interesting to read.
The book is written by Maria von Trapp herself, as a biography. It s...

Divine Nobodies (by Jim Palmer)

(Amazon UK link) It was in 2009 that I first came across Jim Palmer and his book ‘Divine Nobodies’.  I loved the title, and enjoyed the book very much, too. It’s well-written, and includes some personal anecdotes as well as descriptions of encounters with ‘ordinary’ people who are demonstrating the love of Christ.
Jim Palmer, as we learn in the two introductions, is a person who grew out of an abusive, and very sad background. He became a Christian in his late teens, then trained as a pastor. For ...

Stress Family Robinson 2 (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link) Since I re-read ‘Stress family Robinson’ by Adrian Plass just over a month ago, I decided it was time to read its sequel. I last read ‘Stress family Robinson 2’ in 2010, and had mostly forgotten the story. The subtitle is ‘The birthday party’, and I had not even remembered whose birthday was being celebrated.
The first ‘...Robinson’ book is narrated by the family’s close friend known as Dip. The second book is narrated by Kathy Robinson, who is fast approaching fifty. I had just r...

Claudine at St Clare's (by Enid Blyton)

(Amazon UK link) As a child I read and re-read several of the series by Enid Blyton. But the ones I liked best were the three school series: St Clare’s, Malory Towers and the Naughtiest Girl. I’ve been re-reading my way through them gradually in recent months, and a little surprised to find that I still like them, even from the perspective of a grandmother rather than a younger teenager. 
I last read ‘Claudine at St Clare’s in 2014; but I must have read it many times as a child and teen, so the pe...

Quentins (by Maeve Binchy)

(Amazon UK link) When I first read Maeve Binchy’s novels, I acquired them gradually and read them over the course of many years. I realised that there were overlaps in some of the characters, but couldn’t always remember them from previous books. Now I’m re-reading around one each month, in the order in which they were published, and am very much appreciating this aspect of continuity.
I last read ‘Quentins’ in 2003, and in more than two decades had totally forgotten the story, and the characters....

Victoire (by Clare Darcy)

(Amazon UK link) I’m glad I decided to re-read the novels I have acquired, over the years, by Clare Darcy. She’s the only writer I’ve found whose regency romance books are anywhere near the brilliance of those by Georgette Heyer. A note in the front of my copy of ‘Victoire’ tells me that I first read it in 1990 and again in 1997. But evidently I hadn’t read it since then. And in nearly 30 years I had entirely forgotten the story and the characters.
However, the main cast are quite recognisable as ...

The heaven and earth grocery store (by James McBride)

(Amazon UK link) I had never heard of James McBride. Most likely I would never have picked up his novel ‘The heaven and earth grocery store’. But it was allocated for this month’s book club, so I bought it second-hand when I was in the UK last year. I had no idea what to expect when I started it a few days ago. The cover (and, indeed, the title) imply something light-hearted, perhaps amusing in places. That's quite misleading, as I quickly discovered. 
Nor was I enlightened about the story in the ...