Helen50

Helen50 , 11 hours ago to bookstodon group

36 Pearl, Simon Armitage. I quite like alliterative poetry over the rhyme at the end of a line style, something about the rhythm of the words carries you along. Although in this case the subject of the text was distinctly less appealing. The surmise is that a jeweler is bemoaning the loss of a peal and it slowly becomes clear he is discussing a person, not a jewel. The introduction by the author was interesting and added to my appreciation of the structure of the work. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 days ago to bookstodon group

35, The Pursued, CS Forester. Margery gets home to find her sister dead. Verdict of suicide is returned. Told from the perspective of Margery and her mother, it is mostly in the female voice. The situation of Margery & Ted's marriage is explored from her perspective and it is clearly abusive, even if she would not describe it as that. There's a lot going on in here and it struck me as surprisingly sensitive to mental state and motive for the time it was written. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 days ago to bookstodon group

34, Steeple Chasing, Peter Ross. An affectionate snapshot of Britain's churches and the people who made, use and care for them. He begins his travels in lockdown and the contemporary features across the book. The churches he visits and the people he meets are satisfyingly varied. There is open acceptance that those who visit churches are not necessarily religious and he is open minded in encountering those people. The chapters are grouped by theme, rather than area or age. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 11 days ago to bookstodon group

33 Sidesplitter, Phil Wang. A series of essays, using personal experience to discuss being a mixed race man in both Malaysia and Britain. Like any essay collection, it has its ups and downs. The author is a comedian and at times I felt he was trying too hard to be funny. It was patchy with some areas that felt like gross generalisation and others where there was a nuanced argument at work. I would never have picked this up if it had not been the Shelterbox book club pick. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 15 days ago to bookstodon group

32 Murder most royal, SJ Bennett. the third entry in the series featuring HM the Queen as a detective, working through her Assistant Private Secretary, is set at Sandringham at Christmas. A severed hand is washed up on the beach and the Queen identified the likely victim as Ned St Cyr. The case is complicated by the friendship and the rules of inheritance while it takes on a darker hue than previous books in the motive.
It's an affectionate portrait of a missed monarch. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 16 days ago to bookstodon group

31 Venetia, Georgette Heyer. Re-read.
I remembered the first part of this far more clearly than the second. I still find myself cheering Venetia on as she sets out after what she finds her heart desires. Excellent all round. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 22 days ago to bookstodon group

30 Thunder Bay, Douglas Skelton.
Rebecca Connolly is a reporter on a Scottish weekly, and she goes to Stiorm to do some investigative digging There's a lot of violence in here, and threat, in the past and present. What there isn't is a tidy ending, there's no justice and there isn't a satisfactory resolution of all of the story lines. The characters involved are mostly flawed, and some are unpleasant. Having said that, it rolls along at a pace and makes for a good read. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 24 days ago to bookstodon group

29 Lies we Sing to the Sea, Sarah Underwood. This is a let down.The blurb compares it to Madeline Miller, it is nowhere near that level.
This takes two short lines from The Odyssey, where one of the 12 hanged maids is named as Melantho, the only one who is given a name. From this, the author invents what might have happened next.
There are some good elements, the idea is inventive. Both the start and end are strong, the middle overlong.
There are much better books out there. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 29 days ago to bookstodon group

This got rather complicated at times, with an extensive cast of characters and a very eccentric house at it's core. Campion wasn't going to get involved in this one, but there comes a time when it's clear that fate wants you to take a hand and when 3 separate ties pull him in, well he gives in and gets involved.
It's a complicated plot, involving smuggling things in coffins, amongst otherthings. It was enjoyable enough and the end slid to a speedy conclusion. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 1 month ago to bookstodon group

Hello hive mind - after your help.
I'm after readings, extracts or poetry that feature #bells and #bellringing
It's for a carol service, aiming to intersperse the carols with something a bit different. You can assume I've got Tennyson's Ring out Wild bells and all of Betejeman's catalogue already on the list. Open to ideas, particularly less well know and contemporary options.
@bookstodon

Helen50 , 1 month ago to bookstodon group

25 After the Mourning, Barbara Nadel. This mystery set in the East End during WW2 follows a half Indian undertaker who suffers from PTSD, having served in WW1. In this Frank Hancock buries a gypsy woman, from a group in Epping Forest. Her sister sees a vision and this is interpreted as the Virgin Mary by the people in the forest. Mixed up in this is a Romany of German extraction and a relic. There is a lot going on in here, maybe too much, and it gets frantic at the end. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 1 month ago to bookstodon group

24 MIsjustice Helena Kennedy, This is a follow up from an earlier book, written at the turn of the century, on the state of women in the justice system called "How Eve was framed". I've not read that, maybe I should.
Helena Kennedy is a KC and has chaired and been involved in many legal commissions and describes herself as a feminist. She is also from a working class Glasgow family and went into law so as not to end up being a teacher. (tbc)
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 1 month ago to bookstodon group

23 Get in Trouble, Kelly Link. This is a short story collection by an author with a startling imagination - albeit not to my taste. I'm not a fan of magic, and so these were never going to be right up my street. Of the collection, the ones I enjoyed the most were The Summer People and The Two Houses. There's the sensation that the characters are not really in control. If your tolerance for magic is higher than mine, you may well find this right up your street. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

21 English Animals Laura Kaye. Mirka, a Slovenian, arrives at a country house owned by Sophie & Richard. They are very much of their type It is when emotions get involved that Mirka ends up on more rocky ground.
I couldn't decide where this was going. Mirka made some odd decisions and she felt like a collection of set pieces that lead up to the final set piece. It wasn't awful, but I can't get enthused about it either. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

22 Plain Murder, CS Forester
This isn't so much a whodunit as a whydoneit - and will he get away with it. Published in 1930,it is of its time.
It is a bit like Patricia Highsmith's Ripley, you know he's a villain, you are waiting to see what he does next and if he gets away with it. Morris is also a lot less charming than Ripley, you don't want him to get away with it in quite the same way. I listened to it and I'd certainly read or listen to more by Forester in this vein. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

It's approaching that time of year, the annual book buying spree. 📚
What was your best book last year and why did I ought to add to my potential list?
Physical books only, I'm not a e-reader.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

20 Antarctica, Claire Keegan. I have previously read Small Things like these and Foster, both of which were in my best books of the year. This is an earlier work and I think it shows a writer exploring her range rather than one who has found her forte.
In any collection there are some stories that will be better than others, and so it is here.
Having said that, as a collection, there is a lot to enchant. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

19 Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney
I struggled to relate to this. Our main character is Frances, a 21 year old student cum intern who lives rent free in a flat owned by her family and receives an allowance from her drunken father. She has a best friend, Bobbi, and we follow this pair through about 6 months.
As the book progressed I became increasingly convinced that what Frances really needed were some friends, rather than the echo chamber she lives in. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

17 We are Displaced, Malala Yousafzai. I think this book has a laudable purpose, it just feels rather that it is aimed at a younger readership, as there's a lack of nuance in here.
We often hear of refugees in numbers. It isn't often that those faceless numbers become human. This book aims to tell individual stories. It selects just women, mostly young, and tells their story. Unfortunately their voices vanish in the telling. It is a book with laudable aim, but it didn't land. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

17 Ragnarok, AS Byatt
From the author's afterword, this seems to be part of a publisher series of retold myths. The author decided to stick to the mythical element and used a framing device of a young child discovering the myths through reading them. It's noticeable how very violent this is, and how it doesn't end well for anyone. The afterword was very interesting in itself.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

16 Farewell Fountain Street, Selçuk Altun
The surmise here is that the younger man takes on employment with an older man who has cancer and only a limited time to live. We hear from each of them, as they tell their life story to each other.
The twist at the end felt rather twee and unsatisfactory.
It was OK, but I'm not going to remember much of it beyond a fortnight. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

15 Pearls before Swine, Margery Allingham. Campion has been overseas on undercover work and returns to London towards the end of the war. Instead of the warm welcome, he finds a Lugg and a lady smuggling a corpse into his bedroom. The body count racks up and there are complications. Campion finds it hard to adjust. There's a lot going on in here. Campion seems to be less the gad fly man about town, the events of the past few years seem to have sobered him. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 2 months ago to bookstodon group

14 A 3 Dog Problem, SJ Bennett I like the surmise, that the Queen was a bright cookie and investigate goings on in the palace. In this we have a missing painting a poison pen campaign and a body in the swimming pool. Gradually the strands entwine and there is a pattern that emerges. The fun in these is the interaction between the Queen and her APS (in on the secret) and the heads of the household (in the dark). There's an air of nostalgia, with Her Maj no longer here. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

13 The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown This is Ok, 3 sisters who all end up back at their parents house having made a series of mistakes and needing to regroup. It's not terribly adventurous, with the various conundrums being played out and tied up in a big bow at the end. The thing that really go on my nerves was the style of the telling. The story wasn't strong enough to get over the grammatical quirk and I found it hard to get engaged with the sisters on that basis. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

12 Happiness, a mystery, Sophie Hannah
I feel like I've been mis-sold goods here. Presented as a mystery, the author assigns the reader as sidekick in the investigation of the mystery of happiness. BUT The author chooses to give chapter after chapter containing conversations - and I genuinely have no idea who was saying what, as it was all read in the same voice. It may work in text better.
If you're fan of self help, well it might appeal, if not, save yourself the time. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

11 The Fairytale Hairdresser, Abie Longstaff
I suspect these would be better in picture book format than audio, although this was well done, with the fun sound effects. Kittie Lacey is fairyland's hairdresser and she is always very busy. Not only does she do hair, but she gets involved in any number of fairytales and intervenes to straighten things out. There are some fun twists on the standard fairy tale.
I suspect I'm not the target audience.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

10 Sylvester, Georgette Heyer
This is complicated, I admit to being half way and having no idea how our couple were going to end up together. At ~ 2/3rds distance it all got even more far fetched.
It feels like this could have been somewhat shorter had both parties not been standing on ceremony half the time. They both seem to be equally full of pride, just from different causes. Having said that, it was a diverting read that kept me wondering quite what was to happen next. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

9, Offshore, Penelope Fitzgerald
Set in the early 60s this focuses on the community that lives on houseboats on a stretch of the Thames. They are a varied bunch, not quite at home in life, they live at the margins of land and water, and seemingly of society as a whole. The mixture of characters is appealing and they're all quite well defined. There's a lot goes on but the brevity of this leaves a lot of questions unanswered and what happens next.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

7 The Seabird's Cry, Adam Nicholson Chapters on different sea birds that nest on the coasts and spend most of their lives at sea. It covers them life cycle, the latest science but also how they appear in literature culture. The Albatross has only been considered bad luck to kill one since Coleridge's poem, before that, they were regularly killed for food. Can get a little repetitive, and the final chapter is profoundly depressing for the future of these special birds. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

8, Supporting Cast, Kit De Waal
This is excellent, all told in a very intimate format Some of them are connected, and once you've seen that, you start wondering how many others are related. Jimmy who deserts his bride at the alter, is he also the man that has moved to a snooker hall in Bristol? None of the people telling their stories are overt, they are all quite contained. There's no Divas in here, they might all be considered supporting cast members in the play of life. #books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 3 months ago to bookstodon group

6, A History of Treason, The National Archives
This was fascinating. Starting in the middle ages, it traces the history of England through the evolution of treason. From being a crime against the King, it evolved over the ages, depending on the power of the monarch and parliament and the social situation. It finishes with a couple of in-depth studies of the use and mis-use of treason trials, before moving forward to the end of WW2 and the last trial for treason.
#books #nonfiction @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

5 The Night Hawks, Elly Griffiths
Maybe it's because it's been a while since I read the previous one, this felt to be more enjoyable and less going through the motions. Mind you, I roll my eyes every time that Ruth ends up in some villain's clutches by being ditsy and just turning up somewhere. Honestly, woman, you're holding down a responsible job, try engaging your brain a smidge.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

4 Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller, Nadia Wassef.
This tells of a Cairo book store that aimed to break the mould. Set up by 3 women, this was something different.
It is full of interest and I discovered a lot. My only caveat is that there is little joy in this book. It feels a lot like the pressure of the business elements and the associated staff and monetary issues sucked the joy from the experience. This might be a warning for those who follow their dreams.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

3: Coraline, Neil Gaiman
This taps into the inquisitiveness that comes upon us whenever we find a locked or blocked up doorway: where does that go. When she explores through the door she comes home to find her parents missing. They are in the mirror in the hallway, but where are the really? Coraline ventures back through the doorway to find them. Along the way she finds other trapped individuals and a talking cat.
It's an inventive journey through to a parallel world.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

1: Death on Gokumon Island, Seishi Yokomizo
I enjoyed this less than the first in the series. Set some years later on Gokumon Island, as soldiers return home after WW2. Kosuke Kindaichi arrives after one of his comrades dies asking him to go to the island to protect his 3 sisters as they'll be murdered. There's lots of movement, a map would have been a useful addition. The ending turns out to be somewhat depressing, in that it never need to have happened at all.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

2: Who Fear Death, Nnedi Okorafor
This started out as a good book, with a clearly defined world and key characters. Unfortunately, it let itself down in the final portion, where in place of solid plot there was a mishmash of additional tricks employed. Some aspects of this were inventive, the Red people and their magic protective sandstorm being the most inventive. But it left me less impressed with the ending that I was at the beginning.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

December's books read totaled 10, bringing me to 99 for the year. Yes I could find a ickle book and make 100, but that feels like cheating, so 99 it is.
Top 5:
Chivalry Neil Gaiman,
Foster Claire Keegan
Sprig Muslin Georgette Heyer
A Monster Calls Patrick Ness
Last Night at the Lobster Stewart O'Nan.
If forced to pick one, Foster was my book of the year. I actually let my ice cream melt while I finished it, it was that good.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

99 Traitor's Purse, Margery Allingham
Set in the start of WW2, this has quite a different feel from the earlier novels as well as a very different narrative style, with Campion having amnesia. I did wonder how he was going to recover his memory and that takes place a little too neatly, but it was one way out of the situation. The final chapters are at a breakneck pace as Campion strives to stop a swindle that would put the country's economic stability at risk.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

98 Last Night at the Lobster, Stewart O'Nan
This is well nigh perfect. It tells of the last shift at the Red Lobster, a restaurant that is shutting down on 20th December. Manny, as manager, has to deal with a short & disgruntled staff, a snow storm and his own personal life, which is a bit of a mess. If you want a plot driven book, then this is not for you. It is a character study, what makes people tick, why they continue to care (or not). It makes for a very good read.
#books @bookstodon

georgepenney , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

Shameless Christmas Author post (Ohhh the shamelessness!) If anyone needs a laugh to aid digestion, or if you need a mighty distraction from that thing someone said over the potatoes, why not try OverLondon. It's a book! It has words! It has detective pirates! You may smile!

https://www.overlondon.net/

#books @bookstodon #book

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

96 What you need to be warm, @neilhimself
A found poem, constructed from responses to Gaiman's asking people what they needed to be warm, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Each page spread is illustrated by a different artist, in the same limited colour palette of greys & orange. There's a couple of pages of commentary by the artists and they explain what they were aiming for in their illustration. Profits go to UNHCR.
#books @bookstodon

Helen50 , 4 months ago to bookstodon group

There are many Christmas tradition. What's your Christmas book tradition?
Ours involves a copy of Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer from 1952, almost all the popups still work.
#books @bookstodon