A two-month survey this time, because I ran out of blogging and reading steam...
Does anyone still read Monsarrat? I suspect very few, which is a shame, as he tells a good story. Even I, who thought I was fairly aware of his work, hadn't realised just how much he'd written (I'd never heard of this book until I came across it recently in a charity shop).
This is one of his later works and is a love-story to the island and people of Malta (and Gozo, where Monsarrat lived). It tells the story of a priest living through the World War II siege, and the inspiration he draws (and shares) from its history. A very good read.
An epic book (I started by writing "big lump of a book") from Gaiman, his imagaining of how the gods transplanted to America through different waves of imigration might survive into the modern world and be challenged by our modern obsessions.
Every so often I feel that I should read Gaiman, and that it'd be my sort of thing. I enjoyed this book, but I'm not convinced to go out and get the rest of his work.
In 2000, Canadian journalist Jeremy Mercer became of of the gang of aspiring writers, drifters and drop-outs who lived and worked in the (second incarnation of) the legendary Parisian bookshop Shakespeare & Co.
Sadly, I didn't find Mercer and his fellows particularly engaging, and so gave up on the book halfway through.
Mary Roach, Packing for Mars - For Kids
Obviously, I'm not the target audience for this book, but I won it in a competition, and it was a quick read, so I gave it a go.
Mark Gatiss, The Vesuvius Club
It's not about going to Mars, but instead the practical challenges of visiting and living in space. It consists of anecdotes from the Apollo Programme and low earth orbit exploration. As suits its pre-teen audience, a good third of the book is about going to the toilet.
Gatiss's light-hearted take on an Edwardian James Bond.
Given Gatiss's track-record I'd expected something a lot cleverer and witty than this turned out to be. I had the second Lucifer Box book lined up to read after this but, disappointed, didn't bother.
Higgins undertakes a tour of Britian, looking for Roman remains, She gives us not only a history of them, but reflections on the history of archeology and their interpretation.
This one I enjoyed, it will almost certainly be one of my picks of the year.
Jack London, Five Great Short Stories
It's decades since I read any Jack London, and I'd forgotton what a good storyteller he is. I'll be reading some more soon.
Always interesting to see what you’re reading. The Monserrat is a classic. I’m intrigued by the Higgins.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'd certainly recommend the Higgins if you can get a copy - a good read.
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