Willoyd's reading 2010-2011

[willoyd]

Day 2: A book I've read three times

 

 

I don't think I've read any adult book three times. A few twice, but none three times. So this has to be a children's book, and then it could be any one of a dozen or more. But I'm going to choose Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling is so often associated with all things Empire, Raj etc etc, and he was according to my grandmother, who knew him, a very funny/odd sort of person (she wouldn't or couldn't elucidate more!). I suppose this is somewhat in the same sort of mould, harking back to some sort of mythical England, but as a child I just adored the stories, rereading them rather more than three times, and they were a significant factor in my developing a love of history. Kipling was certainly an outstanding story writer, especially short stories. The sequel, Rewards and Fairies was equally well loved and equally heavily read.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[chesilbeach]

I can't wait to see all your answers to the questionnaire, willoyd, as your reviews and book choices are really interesting, and you're the only other person I know to have read a Margaret Elphinstone book (which reminds me that I really must go back and finish Hy Brasil!).

[willoyd]

I can't wait to see all your answers to the questionnaire, willoyd, as your reviews and book choices are really interesting, and you're the only other person I know to have read a Margaret Elphinstone book (which reminds me that I really must go back and finish Hy Brasil!).

 

Thank you. It's great to hear of someone else who enjoys her writing - I'm already looking forward to your review, as that's one I've yet to read.

[willoyd]

Day 3: Your favourite series

The first of the hard ones! I once read somewhere that men and children much prefer to read series of books. I suppose that once you know you like an author, it's easier to lap up everything they write, and a series encourages that. There are quite a lot I like, but I can whittle it down to three reasonably straightforwardly, but after that....? I'll go with the one from which I've read most books.

 

So it has to be the Inspector Brunetti series by Donna Leon. I enjoy crime, particularly Eurocrime, quite a bit, but the thing I love about this series is (a) the setting - Venice - which we tend to visit most years in the autumn and (b) Guido Brunetti himself, one of the most 'normal' detectives in fiction. None of your Morse- like gloom or Wallander-like depression here (I do like both series though!), and not just Guido, but the rest of his family (Paola especially). I also enjoy the ways that Brunetti works round/within what appears to be quite a challenging system in Italy, not without humour!

 

I don't know how realistic this all is - although the settings are very real and comfortably traceable (we even found the Brunetti home last time - at least the building (!) - just as we envisaged from the books).

 

And this is "we" too - this is a series that both OH and I have enjoyed - it's not overly often that our paths cross bookwise, but this is one of them.

 

Oh -and the other two series in contention? The closest contender was Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series, a series I enjoy so much, I'm not too sure why it didn't get first slot, other than the reason I decided on for the final split, and Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalban series, which is growing on me steadily.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[chesilbeach]

Donna Leon was on Book Club on Radio 4 this month talking about the first one of the Inspector Brunetti series - although they're not my cup of tea, I liked her a lot and thought she was quite a character, especially when talking about living in Italy herself! It's still on iPlayer if you didn't catch it and you're interested.

[frankie]

Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee ******

Absolutely brilliant read - perhaps the best biography I've yet read, and one of the best non-fictions. Huge book (750 packed pages) that demanded close reading, so not one for bedtimes, but it was massively rewarding as a result with the author working really hard to get inside the skin of her subject. Although the book was broadly chronological, the chapters focused on specific themes, which meant there was some overlap. Some reviewers found that difficult, but it was a method which I thoroughly enjoyed. Makes me want to read much more of VW's work! One of those very rare books where within minutes of finishing I wanted to start all over again - there's far too much to take in in one pass.

 

One comment on the publishing side. I started with the paperback, but found it very difficult to read with the small typeface and lines running into the gutter. Swapped to the Kindle, only to find that Penguin had made a complete hash of the formatting and proof reading - and they have the enormous cheek to force Amazon to charge their own prices - complete ripoff. Finally, obtained a second hand (Chatto and Windus) copy of the hardback - by far and away the best read of the lot, and I whipped through it after that.

 

I was browsing through my 'unread threads' and stumbled into yours and decided to take a closer look to see if you have any stuff on Virginia Woolf, you having commented on her on poppyshake's thread. And there it was, the mammoth biography of scary Woolf It has now officially been added to my wishlist. Thanks for the review, willoyd, and I'll keep in mind that the hardback is the best way to go

 

Day 1: My favourite book from last year.

I think it has to be The Years by Virginia Woolf. I read this soon after rereading Mrs Dalloway, during which some sort of penny dropped, and I found myself absolutely loving every word. I found it fascinating how Woolf could evoke so much through actually writing so little: it's a family saga, yet each scene until the final party (which occupies a quarter to a third of the book) is almost just a snapshot, and the snapshots are often taken years apart. Yet it's so easy to fill in the gaps, whilst those snapshots are so vivid. Woolf is not a light read (!), demanding concentration, but she is thoroughly rewarding. One to be reread soon, but not at bedtime!

 

I definitely need to read this. I love this forum, there are members who read each sort of genre, and even authors of the most intimidating kind, and you guys help us others to try something that we wouldn't dare without the encouragement coming from you!

 

Day 3: Your favourite series

So it has to be the Inspector Brunetti series by Donna Leon. I enjoy crime, particularly Eurocrime, quite a bit, but the thing I love about this series is (a) the setting - Venice - which we tend to visit most years in the autumn and (b) Guido Brunetti himself, one of the most 'normal' detectives in fiction. None of your Morse- like gloom or Wallander-like depression here (I do like both series though!), and not just Guido, but the rest of his family (Paola especially). I also enjoy the ways that Brunetti works round/within what appears to be quite a challenging system in Italy, not without humour!

 

I don't know how realistic this all is - although the settings are very real and comfortably traceable (we even found the Brunetti home last time - at least the building (!) - just as we envisaged from the books).

 

And this is "we" too - this is a series that both OH and I have enjoyed - it's not overly often that our paths cross bookwise, but this is one of them.

 

I don't think I've ever read Eurocrime (I don't count UK thrillers in this because it's not on mainland, and I also don't count thrillers from Sweden, for example, because it's in the Nordic countries where I live myself, and it feels very homey to me, not European per se), so that's interesting! I actually have one Donna Leon's novel, Death at La Fenice, which I think is the first novel in the series? I'm very much looking forward to reading it now It must be so much more enjoyable to you, having visited Venice so many times and even having traced the Brunetti home! Very exciting

[willoyd]

I don't think I've ever read Eurocrime (I don't count UK thrillers in this because it's not on mainland, and I also don't count thrillers from Sweden, for example, because it's in the Nordic countries where I live myself, and it feels very homey to me, not European per se), so that's interesting! I actually have one Donna Leon's novel, Death at La Fenice, which I think is the first novel in the series?

 

Yes it is, and it's a good example to try.

 

I have to admit I do include the Scandinavian countries in my definition of Eurocrime, so that broadens the field somewhat. I can't say I've tried all, given the monumental flood that has washed into the bookshops here, but I am really enjoying the Wallander series (and the Krister Henriksson films/programmes), and have read and loved others by Hoeg, Theorin, Larsson and Vida (if the latter can count as a crime novel - Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name), with others in my TBR boxes (no room on the shelves). Again, I've spent a fair bit of time in Scandinavia over the years, although sadly not yet in Finland, and enjoy the settings, which these authors generally evoke really well.

 

I like some UK crime, Sarah Dunant and Lauren Henderson jump to mind, but am not a great fan of the more traditional style, having gone through a phase when much younger but now find it wanting (I can't stand the Agatha Raisin novels that others go on about). Having said that, I am a great fan of Georges Simenon, so it must be something more to do with the settings and/or styles than the content.

Edited August 24, 2011 by willoyd

[pickle]

So glad you like the Inspector Montalban series (have you seen the Tv prog?) I have loved all of them and read the latest recently on holiday. I am a massive eurocrime lover to and have been sucked into the 'Scandinavian' crime series although have broadend it to include Iceland. There is a Spanish one I have been meaning to try Domingo Villar - Death on a Galcian Shore have you read that one?

[willoyd]

So glad you like the Inspector Montalban series (have you seen the Tv prog?) I have loved all of them and read the latest recently on holiday. I am a massive eurocrime lover to and have been sucked into the 'Scandinavian' crime series although have broadend it to include Iceland. There is a Spanish one I have been meaning to try Domingo Villar - Death on a Galcian Shore have you read that one?

 

I've avoided the TV programmes, as they've all been episodes I've yet to read (at least the ones I've seen) - but hope to pick them up once I have read them.

I've read Domingo Villar's Water Blue Eyes - enjoyable fairly light read, certainly good enough to want to read more, but not quite as good as, for instance, Camilleri. At least IMO!

[willoyd]

Day 4: Favourite book of your favourite series

Difficult one, as the Brunetti series is remarkably consistent (so far - I've not read all yet). Indeed, I'd say that no one book would rate amongst my all time favourites - it's the series that is so good, in the way that the reader gradually gets 'into' the main protagonists and their relationships, both with others and the setting itself. For me the series is a six star series (maximum!). Individually, the books are no more than 4, occasionally 5 (still very good in my ratings!).

 

However, one does nudge itself forward: Fatal Remedies.

 

 

In this, Paola is the one who commits the opening crime, an act of vandalism on a travel agents. You soon learn why! Up to now she's been a little bit of a supporting act - now she comes to the fore, and a lot of book focuses on her relationship with Guido. The whole family starts to become so much more rounded for the reader. If one didn't realise how important they were in Brunetti's life before (and that's not a mistake readers of the series are likely to have made, but you never know!), you certainly do now! It's also a good crime story too!

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[Ruth]

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin ***

A medieval whodunnit. Enjoyable, light reading, ideal for switching off and not having to think too deeply. Not exactly authentic medieval - the heroine is very 21st century in her thinking, as is some of the language, and there are loads of historical errors. The whodunnit bit wasn't exactly taxing either, but it all provided a pleasant enough wind down in the evenings at a fairly stressful time of year workwise. Fun story telling, but not, as some Amazon reviewers suggest, remotely in the same league as CJ Sansom.

 

 

Hanen't read that one, but I read The Death Maze a while back, and I'd say that's pretty much spot on. If I'm not mistaken, Ariana Franklin, who died only a few months ago, was married to the film critic Barry Norman.

 

 

I have both of these on my (ever expanding) tbr. I suppose comparisons to C J Sansom are somewhat inevitable. I've only read Dissolution by Sansom, which I thought was excellent.

 

I really like the Montalbano series as well

Edited August 26, 2011 by Ruth

[willoyd]

Day 5: A book that makes me happy

Oh dear - there are loads that satisfy both this and Day 6, so to help narrow things down I'm going to add one or two extra rules to this challenge:

(1) Try to avoid repeating authors and/or books.

(2) Try to avoid plot spoilers.

I might add more later!

 

On that front, to say whether a book makes me happy or sad will quite often act as a plot spoiler. But I don't think the following is giving much away!

 

So my nomination for this is going to be pretty much any of the Regency novels by Georgette Heyer, one of the best known being The Grand Sophy:

 

 

Not your typical reading for a man, I know, but I was introduced to these by my mother, who was a great fan, because she knew how much I enjoyed history, especially that period. Not a book I took to school though! I loved the history, loved the adventures (there's always an adventure!), and somehow they always landed up with the right result on the very last page. I haven't read one for a few years now, but they were always guaranteed to put a smile on my face, and provided exactly the sort of light reading that could lift me out of a touch of the glooms.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[willoyd]

Germania by Simon Winder **

 

 

Like the author, I have an abiding fascination with Germany, and have spent quite a few holidays exploring the country (mostly on the back of a bicycle), often without hearing an English voice for days on end. It's not the most popular of our tourist destinations, which really goes to show how deeply the last war is buried in psyche, because it's a great holiday destination.

 

However, good books on Germany are hard to find. Plenty of history books about the dozen or so years of Nazi rule (some excellent), but not much else. What is available is generally pretty ropey: I'm thinking of various books by Ben Donald, Roger Boyes, Cathy Dobson et al. John Ardagh produced an excellent insight (Germany and the Germans) a while ago, which is sadly a bit dated now, but otherwise not much at all. So I was really looking forward to reading Simon Winder's personal history of Germany, taking it with me to read on our latest bike tour, along the Rhine.

 

And on the whole it is highly readable, if long winded, although I unusually did need a dictionary on standby. However, I have to say that, whilst I managed to read to the end (and I did wonder whether I was going to make it on more than one occasion), this has joined the ever growing pile of disappointments. A pity, as it could have been brilliant. So why wasn't it?

 

Each chapter was split up into seperate subsections. Each one of those subsections was effectively a separate mini-essay on some aspect of the approximate time period covered by the chapter. They were mostly unrelated to each other. Indeed, Winder warned that this would be particularly so in the early chapters, when things are so incoherent. Within each essay, topics and names (and some German names are essays in themselves!) without any introduction or explanation or attempt to relate to any other aspect covered. And when you're covering a period of history when it wasn't Germany, but 300 plus ministates, some sort of attempt at contextualisation would help. All too often the reader would be asked to jump from one topic to another, one part of Germany to another, with no connection (other than the approximate time period) and no idea where this place actually was (there are no maps and virtually no illustrations). All in all, I landed up thoroughly confused, and pretty much don't remember where anything happened (and as a geographer, I'm usually quite good at that sort of thing).

 

There were some excellent passages. Most of these were later on, when we were able to concentrate on fewer states (eventually virtually a single nation!), such as his background to the build up to the world wars. They weren't particularly deep (they weren't meant to be), but I certainly got a whole new angle on some elements of German history, and new insights into how things happened. Unfortunately, it was all very patchy, and we'd all too often then dive off at a tangent.

 

I didn't get on particularly well with his style either, but then I don't with all too many of these 'personal view' writers. It wasn't his opinions - far from it, I thought these were amongst the more interesting elements, but the 'humour'. But then, I don't particularly like Bill Bryson either (at least his travel books - others of his are much better), and find most 'humorous' travel and history writers tedious.

 

So, all in all, potentially a really interesting book that for me failed to hit the mark - too many assumptions, too little context, too disconnected, and too keen to be jolly by half. But...unlike the other authors cited above, I would actually try others of his books. It all depends on whether he gets a decent editor, which is ironic as he is a well regarded editor for Penguin (I've just started dipping into Tim Blanning's book The Pursuit of Glory, only to find Simon Winder almost the first acknowledgement!). 2 stars out of 6 (almost 3/6).

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[willoyd]

Day 6: A book that makes me sad

Quite a few books that make me sad and which I'd love to have listed, I can't really list without effectively giving the plot away. But one of my favourites, where I don't think it does, is The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

 

 

This is the first of a series of books that Connie Willis has written based on time travel (although it was preceded by a short story, The Fire Watch), where Oxford history students of the late 21st century are able to travel back in time to research their subjects. In this, Kivrin Engle goes back to the time of the Black Death. I won't say much more about the plot other than it ratchets up the tension nicely, with parallel action in both early 14th and late 21s centuries, and is a gripping read, almost unputdownable (with one caveat), but what I appreciated most is the atmosphere that Willis creates as the Black Death takes its grip and Kivrin struggles to cope - almost mesmirising. Willis is generally classified as a science fiction writer, but this is more historical fiction.

 

OK, the caveat! Willis is an American writer, and it shows on occasions, with unfortunate Americanisms creeping into the characters' vocabularies and lives - that dread word 'gotten' appears all too often, and it's almost laughable how everybody seems to wear 'mufflers'. But that aside, a great read.

 

I've also really enjoyed the other books in the series. Indeed, To Say Nothing of the Dog was on my shortlist of books that make me happy - a complete contrast in style even if using the same conceit. I'm currently reading her latest 'duology' in the series, two books telling one story: Blackout and All Clear. A bit overblown maybe, the reviews being understandably mixed, but I enjoy books that are as intricately plotted as this. Almost spoiled by some glaring holes in her detail that do stick out like sore thumbs on occasions, e.g. WW2 characters paying 5p for a phone call. Sloppy, which is a pity and only needed a reasonably knowledgable London historian to pick up most of them really quickly at the editing stage. Still worth reading though.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[chesilbeach]

Day 5: A book that makes me happy

So my nomination for this is going to be pretty much any of the Regency novels by Georgette Heyer, one of the best known being The Grand Sophy:

 

I read a Georgette Heyer book a couple of years ago, because both Daisy Goodwin and Stephen Fry mentioned her on separate television programmes and said how good her writing and evocation of period was, and much more that just the romance novels her books were often branded. The one I read was Frederica, and I really enjoyed it. It was great fun and very witty with a strong female lead, and a lovely period piece. I've been meaning to read more, and have just had a quick look at amazon to find there are an abundance of them available for the Kindle, so will be adding some to my wishlist today.

[willoyd]

The one I read was Frederica, and I really enjoyed it. It was great fun and very witty with a strong female lead, and a lovely period piece. I've been meaning to read more, and have just had a quick look at amazon to find there are an abundance of them available for the Kindle, so will be adding some to my wishlist today.

 

I think that sums her writing up perfectly for me. She's an ideal writer for the Kindle too, as she's just the sort of writer to read whilst travelling etc (which is when I use mine mostly).

[Ooshie]

So my nomination for this is going to be pretty much any of the Regency novels by Georgette Heyer, one of the best known being The Grand Sophy:

 

 

Not your typical reading for a man, I know, but I was introduced to these by my mother, who was a great fan, because she knew how much I enjoyed history, especially that period. Not a book I took to school though! I loved the history, loved the adventures (there's always an adventure!), and somehow they always landed up with the right result on the very last page. I haven't read one for a few years now, but they were always guaranteed to put a smile on my face, and provided exactly the sort of light reading that could lift me out of a touch of the glooms.

 

I read loads of Georgette Heyer books when I was about twenty, they were probably my first introduction to historical fiction and I loved them! As you say, they were always easy to read. (Although when I developed a really bad case of the flu once when in the middle of one, when I got up to go to the bathroom I was hallucinating picking my way through bodies on a battlefield - the heroine was searching for her husband's body at the time!)

[willoyd]

(Although when I developed a really bad case of the flu once when in the middle of one, when I got up to go to the bathroom I was hallucinating picking my way through bodies on a battlefield - the heroine was searching for her husband's body at the time!)

Wow - now that's what I call getting into a book!

[willoyd]

Day 7: Most underrated book

 

Not so much a single book, as an author. To be honest, there are several that immediately jump to mind, but this is one that I particularly find difficult to understand: Margaret Elphinstone, whose bookThe Sea Road was my opening book of this year, going straight into my favourites list. I also read Voyageurs in July, and that wasn't far behind.

 

 

In both cases, Elphinsone evokes both time and place superbly, developing characters that fully come to life even though (in these 2 cases) they are far removed historically. The plot lines are pretty good too (although The Sea Road is based on the Icelandic sagas, it's seen from a completely different perspective, that of Gudrid Thorsbjorndottir). And yet, none of her books reach even a hundred readers on Library Thing, and she barely features in book shops - you really do have to hunt her books down. Even in the Edinburgh Waterstones 'Scottish writers' section earlier this week, I could find just one copy of one book - Hy Brasil (which I bought). She's not totally ignored, having won various minor awards and had The Sea Road included in List magazine's 100 Best Scottish Books, but I am really surprised at how little her work seems to be known or read. Definitely underrated!

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[Roland Butter]

Absolutely spot on about Germania, I'd say. I asked for that as a present last Christmas, and was hugely disappointed. Tedious to read, disjointed and rambling, I thought. It seemed to me as if, rather than develop and research an idea thoroughly, he thought to himself "OK, what do I know about Germany? Right, I'll turn that into a book". Poor, I'm afraid.

[willoyd]

Day 8: Most overrated book

 

Plenty of them, but one immediately jumps to mind: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

 

 

It's a slim book, but took forever. I only kept going because everybody had said it was so good and so important, but to be honest I found it just the opposite. Talk about Emperor's New Clothes. But woe betide if you say anything against it on any of the review sites, especially Amazon - just see the comments attached to any negative review - it's like commenting on someone's faith. Ironically, Vonnegut himself regarded the book as a failure - commenting that there is nothing intelligent to be written about a masssacre. All respect to him for trying - in that sense the book isn't 'bad', being his attempt to put into words what he thought, and it was worth trying. It's the fact that people think it's so wonderful that I find difficult to understand.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[willoyd]

Day 9: A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

 

There are loads of books where I wasn't certain whether I would like it or not, and almost feared I wouldn't like, but the one that jumps to mind as expecting not to like it but absolutely loving it is Emma by Jane Austen.

 

 

Emma was one of my set books at A-Level, and I have to admit I not only noted it on the reading list with a sinking heart, but really hated it whilst studying it during my first year. But then I decided to read all my texts as straightforward books over the summer holidays, and discovered that I adored it - I needed to read it as a complete book. I loved it to such an extent that within six months I had read all her other novels, other than Mansfield Park which I saved up for later in life (I read it a couple of years ago). I prefer several of her other books, but it is unlikely that without having Emma to study that I'd have got around to them until much more recently. As it is, they have provided me with huge pleasure, and continue to do so, as they are all reread regularly.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd

[chesilbeach]

Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree about Emma, willoyd. It's the one Jane Austen I've never actually managed to get to the end of! I've read all the others, but this one I just never seem to be able to get more than half way through without putting it to one side because I'm just not enjoying it.

[willoyd]

Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree about Emma, willoyd. It's the one Jane Austen I've never actually managed to get to the end of! I've read all the others, but this one I just never seem to be able to get more than half way through without putting it to one side because I'm just not enjoying it.

 

Maybe the studying helped after all!

[willoyd]

Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis ****(*)

 

 

The first thing to note about this novel is that it's split into two books. Literally. All Clear starts immediately where Blackout finishes, and there's no 'conclusion' to the latter - much to many readers' frustration, as there is no indication of this in either book. Must have been intensely annoying for early readers, with Blackout being published several months in advance of its follow-on. And that is why they are linked in this review.

 

The books use the same conceit employed in Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, where late 21st century Oxford historians time travel into the past to research for their degrees, with consequent adventures, often involving time travel issues. This story is set in WW2, where 3 students are separately stuck in the early months of the war. Spread across the two books, it's a huge story - over 1000 pages - encompassing the whole war as various strands are followed, with chapters used to move between the stories. Big as the subject is, the story could and should have been a lot shorter, the editors doing Willis no favours in indulging her - it's obviously a project that grew!

 

In spite of this, and a number of other faults, I found myself enthralled; this was one where my heart definitely ruled my head in rating. The main protagonists weren't overly 3D, but many of the ancillary characters were, and this was important as one of the main themes was the small scale heroism shown throughout the war by many, many people, not just those fighting at the fronts. Indeed, the latter barely featured - this was definitely about the civilian war. The level of detail was huge - too much so for some Amazon reviewers - but as a result, I really felt I was in WW2. Unfortunately, there were some glaring mistakes, 5p being the price of a telephone call (although other prices were more old money), trunk calls being made at a pillar box, the existence of the Jubilee and Circle lines (I think the Victoria was in there somewhere too), the credit on the cover of Blackout being for 'St Patrick's Cathedral' (!!), with a picture of Amerian bombers apparently bombing London, some awful Americanisms (which also featured in previous books) etc etc (slightly better in All Clear, and there were some points where you thought, why didn't they just....., but even with all of this, I so enjoyed the story telling, that I learned to live with them.

 

And that was the point. As a book (or books), this wasn't as accomplished as either of the predecessors, it was too long, and there were some too repetitious elements (the internal monologues), but as a story which grabbed me and kept hold of me, weaving in and out and through the civiian war, I didn't want to put it down, and ripped through the whole 1000+ pages in barely 5 days. Having said that, it doesn't surprise me that ratings on Amazon and elsewhere are so varied - this is definitely a love it or hate it book, and whilst I loved it, I can see why some people hated it.

Edited December 30, 2011 by willoyd