Willoyd's Reading 2021

[Madeleine]

Yes they are sort of similar, but I think DM has much more of a sense of isolation, in Thin Air, even when the guy is on his own he can still the others moving around over at  the base camp, and could signal to them if he wanted to, whereas in DM, once Jack is left alone, he really is alone!  Apart from the dog of course.  i agree that DM is the better book, although I know some people didn't like the ending.

[willoyd]

23 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Yes they are sort of similar, but I think DM has much more of a sense of isolation, in Thin Air, even when the guy is on his own he can still the others moving around over at  the base camp, and could signal to them if he wanted to, whereas in DM, once Jack is left alone, he really is alone!  Apart from the dog of course.  i agree that DM is the better book, although I know some people didn't like the ending.

 

Yes, I'd agree with all that - the difference really showed up reading the two virtually back to back.  I think that's partly why DM is a stronger book for me. I thought the ending a good one - certainly no anti-climax as quite a few ghost stories are!  Even held up on a reread.

 

 

[willoyd]

Two more books to add to the list in the past couple of days:

 

The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens ****

One of Dickens's Christmas novellas, one that I've not actually read before.  It was always going to be hard pushed to even match A Christmas Carol which has grown on me over the years to mature into a favourite, but, after a slightly ropey start where I really couldn't get my head around quite what was going on, something fell into place at just under half way through, and this developed into a thoroughly entertaining read in true Dickens style: heavy on the sentiment, glorious in its descriptions, intricate in its plotting and characterisation.  Dickens is, in fact, the one sentimental author whose work I lap up, it's all told with such relish that one can positively chew on it.  I really must get stuck back into the full length novels in the New Year.

 

The Holy Roman Empire, A Short History by Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger ***

Almost Tardis-like in its efforts to contain the history of an Empire that genuinely lasted pretty much a thousand years, but it helped itself along from the start by pretty much ignoring the first two-thirds!  The author also concentrated almost exclusively on the history of the Empire's political structure which, admittedly, was pretty unique. In that sense, it provided a welcome overview, hopefully a useful introduction to the rather heftier volume on the same subject by Peter Wilson that has been almost glowering at me from its place on my bookshelves for a while now, but, aside from the series of Emperors that ruled during this period, barely anybody else got more than a fleeting mention (no, I tell a lie, Martin Luther features fairly prominently at one point) and there was, ultimately, a rather dry, dusty feel to the book.  For all that it was barely 150 pages long, it proved to be pretty hard work! 

[willoyd]

 

The last 5 books of the year, and an enjoyable set of reads they were too!

 

Portrait of a Tortoise by Sylvia Townsend-Warner ******

The first of a duo that compliment each other perfectly.  The tortoise in question is Timothy, which was inherited by the 18th-century naturalist Gilbert White from his aunt, and which survived to outlive White by a few months.  White included observations of Timothy's activities in both his journals (3 volumes) and his nature classic The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.  Sylvia Townsend-Warner has gathered all those entries and references into one slim volume, and preceded it with an extensive introduction.  The whole is only some 60-odd pages long, but I found it delectable!

 

Timothy's Book by Verlyn Klinkenborg ******

Having read the non-fiction biographical side of Timothy's life, this followed neatly on. Here we read the story as seen by Timothy himself.  It's fictional and it pertains to be autobiographical, but it's more, as It's also perceptive, somewhat wry, analysis, taking a steady, clear-eyed (dare I say tortoise-like) look at the world (and vanity!) of humans from an unusual angle.  The style of writing is very distinct: short, sharp, staccato phraises rather than full sentences - not always enjoyed by other reviewers it appears - but I felt it added to the 'feel' of being written from outside the human sphere. It also added to the feel of it being an insight into Timothy's thoughts, rtather than a carefully written piece of prose - although it is, of course, exactly the latter!

Individually, I really enjoyed both books, but together they make a brilliant team, and thus for the first time, I've decided to award a 'joint' six star award, rather than give each book it's own grading (which would probably have been a 6 anyway!).

 

Death of an Avid Reader by Frances Brody *****

This is the January choice for one of my book groups.  Part of a series set in Yorkshire, centred on 1920s private detective Kate Shackleton, forced to earn a living after the death of her surgeon husband in the First World War.  I'd previously read one of the others, Death in the Dales, and whilst mildly enjoying it, was not overly inspired to follow up with any of the others, so was fairly neutral about taking this on.  In the event, this proved a far more satisfying read and, ot me, a more strongly structured and interesting plot.  This might be because the novel was set even closer to home (I used to live in Headingley, very close to where Kate Shacketon lives, and am a a member of The Leeds Library, where the story is centred), but I think that's at most only part of the reason. I certainly enjoyed tracing Kate's adventures on a copy of a contemporary street map (Brody's geography looks generally solid, with one or two slight question marks that are easy to gloss over), but there was also a depth that seemed to be lacking in the previous book; I particularly enjoyed the way Shackleton was tackling two different investigations which might or might not cross over.  Whatever, it certainly left me feeling that, after this one, I've rather reversed my previous feelings, and intend to explore the series further in the not too distant future (there's plenty of opportunity, as my OH is a keen fan, and has most of the set on her bookshelves!).

 

A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon ****

It's been a while since I read my last Commissario Brunetti novel, and all I can ask is why did it take me so long to come back to them?  Brunetti himself comes over as a thoroughly grounded human being, not gratuitously damaged as so many series detectives are, with a 'normal' family background, which is integrated into the fabric of the stories.  This was a rather more downbeat narrative than I remember from previous episodes, but it still makes for addictive reading - so will return a lot sooner than I did for this one!

 

Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon ****

What better way to finish the year off than with a Maigret?  I just know that when I get to the end of them all (I've still yet to reach the half-way point) I'll just start all over again.  For me, the plot is almost trivial, although obviously they need to be sound for this sort of book to work, but I just so enjoy the characters and, perhaps even more,  the atmosphere and settings.  Whilst  I enjoy pretty much all of them, most of my favourites do tend to be set in Paris or its immediate environs (although my number one to date is surprisingly not) - there's just something about how Simenon recreates the capital and its population that I find completely unputdownable.  This is not the best, being one of the later ones I wonder if Simenon was running slightly out of ideas, but I still enjoyed reading it in one sitting!

 

And that takes me to the end of the year: 92 books (my highest calendar year), just over 22600 pages (second on the list), it's been a good year's reading, even if I've felt unable to tackle some of the bigger stuff, and really didn't hit a single one of the aims I set out with!  For a proper, full review, see the introductory posts to my 2022 thread.  On to 2022!

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by willoyd