Mistress Gwynn

Had to put my Bernard Cornwell re-reads on hold for the appearance of the new Robin Hobb. So, I was lost in the world of Fitz and the Fool for three whole days with Fool's Quest. I just love her world and characters, so this has been like a holiday for me. Better get back to Bernard's Saxon Chronicles now.

I never managed to see Michael Wood's first series, Willoyd. I only really discovered him when he did In Search of Troy. I do wish I'd seen the Dark Ages one - it sounds great. Thanks for the tip on Cornwell's Waterloo history. I shall avoid it, although I have to say I have never actually read the Sharpe series, and never watched it on TV. I keep promising myself I'll catch up with it one of these days.

Jury's still out for me, Janet. I'm not the biggest fan of Walliams, although I do like Jessica. I thought it was a bit disjointed in the narrative, but it was only setting the scene so I'll give it another go and watch the next episode.

I finished H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald - and then I realised I'd also got her Falcon on my shelves too, which I enjoyed a few years ago. HIFH is much more than a memoir about training a gos, however. It deals with the author's depression following the death of her father, and both this part of the book and the hawk-training were very enjoyable; having gone through several close family bereavements in my time, I could truly empathise. Where the book dragged, I felt, was in her ruminations about T.H. White, the author of The Once and Future King who had written down his own memoir about hawk-training. I found this to be intrusive and it broke the narrative in places. But all in all I enjoyed the book. I then went on to Marc Morris' The Norman Conquest. I haven't read any history for a while - the scholarship has changed somewhat since my day and I get tired of the same old hamfisted political agendas. Therefore, it was nice to find out that Morris is a pragmatist and just puts his evidence forth without twisting facts to fit a theory. I really loved this one, and have ordered his volumes on King John and Edward I on the strength of it. I've also breezed through Michael Wood's In Search of the Dark Ages since I was last here. Woody is always entertaining and I'd missed this one first time round. Inevitably, all this Anglo-Saxon and Norman history made me want to re-read my Bernard Cornwells, so I've dived into The Last Kingdom again after many years. It's like soaking in a warm bath. Love it. Even though this series does start to get repetitive after a while, revisiting young Uhtred is a joy.

Have finished the Abercrombie First Law Trilogy - which was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it and the characters will stay with me for a long time. Have just started H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald. This is a book my daughter bought for me as a stocking filler last Christmas and it has been on my TBR pile. She bought it as a surprise because she knows I love falcons, and I hadn't the heart to tell her that hawks are totally different and I actually abhor sparrowhawks! Not to worry, though, as this book is about a gos. Early days yet but there is a lot more to this book than pure falconry.

I tend to be OK with most background noise. I just focus on the book and my mind blocks out the noise. I must admit though, it's becoming harder to do that the older I get, especially with more involved works....

Oh, heck - this is worse than the 10 favourite authors. In no particular order, then: Beloved - Toni Morrison One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (although Love in the Time of Cholera runs it a close second) The Trial - Franz Kafka Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy Silas Marner - George Eliot The Persian Boy - Mary Renault The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (and Bring Up the Bodies, but I'll count it as one, as they are the first two of a trilogy) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Thanks for your thoughts, Frankie. I would definitely lean towards this interpretation. I rented the film from iTunes over the weekend, and I think that supports the theory.

I have finished American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. On the one hand this was quite a brilliantly written and constructed book that held a damning critique of the American yuppie culture of the 80s. As far as the storyline itself, however, I still wonder if the author deliberately left this open to interpretation. Were we to trust Bateman's narration, or were all his 'acts' in his own head. Having read horror as a genre since my early teens (and even from the age of 9 if you include Dracula), I have become somewhat desensitised to gore in fiction, and I found most of the violence so overblown as to be ridiculous - with one or two exceptions. But there again, was this also intentional by the author? Bateman is a fascinating character, nonetheless, if a repulsive one. Having said all this, however, I have no real desire to expand my reading of Easton Ellis at the moment, but who knows..... I am now cleansing myself with the final part of the First Law Trilogy. Abercrombie's Glokta seems like Father Christmas after Patrick Bateman, and of course, he knocks spots off him for sardonic wit!

Have finished the wonderful Before They Are Hanged, the second book in Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy. I want to savour the last book with these fantastic characters, so I'm just taking a break to read American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. I've always meant to read it. Oh, my......... It's compelling, but the part I've just read almost had me giving up. I will stick with it though as I hope it will explain just why Bateman has become what he is!

Haha - I've decided that Paul Kaye enjoys playing the same mad magic priest/prophet over and over...... His performance as Vinculus was no different to his Thoros of Myr turn in Game of Thrones. Whereas Enzo Cilenti as Childermass was a far cry cry from his portrayal as slave-owner Yezzan on the same show! I was very impressed with Cilenti - less so with Kaye, but all in all it was a very competent cast and the two leads were superb.

July reading: The beginning of the month saw me finish The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie - first book in his First Law Trilogy. A few problems with the prose at first (it was his first novel) but the characters won me over here. So much so that I ordered the whole trilogy in paperback as keepers. I really like this author and look forward to a new journey in his world. I am now reading the second book in the trilogy, Before they are Hanged and the prose has improved. The characters (superbly drawn and very believable), world and storyline continue to delight me. Count me among Mr. Abercrombie's fans. An added bonus is the humour. There are real laugh out loud moments.

It and The Stand for me, but I must admit to having grown out of Stephen King over the last few years. I used to be quite a fan at one time, but I can't remember the last new one of his I bought now. Oh, yes - I think I do remember. Was it Dreamcatcher or something? Some chap who defecated an alien life form, or some such thing. I put the book down at that stage. I never did enjoy his SciFi ones as much as his horrors and psycho thrillers. If I was going to re-read any Stephen King nowadays it would be The Stand.

Yes, the ending was very, very different! Hope you enjoy the book - I found it a sheer delight.

This is hard..... I can't even put them in order. Mary Renault Thomas Hardy Jane Austen Lindsey Davis C. S. Sansom Hilary Mantel Gabriel Garcia Marquez Robin Hobb George Eliot Fyodor Dostoevsky There's a mixed bag for you ETA: Honourable mention to Sir Terry Pratchett