What
I read in January 2012
I love
holidays - all that guilt-free reading! And I've done a lot of it...
A Stitch in Snow by Anne McCaffrey - one of
her few romances and re-read many times - now on my Nook
Three Bedrooms One Corpse by Charlaine Harris
#3 Aurora Teagarden - they're growing on me. Nook
Plum Smoking by Janet Evanovich - a Stephanie Plum 'between the numbers' which
means supernatural - good, laugh out loud
Break
Up by
Dana Stabenow - #7 Kate Shugak series set in Alaska. Best one
yet. iPhone
The
Julius House by
Charlaine Harris #4 Aurora Teagarden - marriage and murder. Nook
Tiger Men by Judy Nunn - book group, set in Tasmania. Liked the beginning
but it fell away in the second half once the first generation ended.
The Badgers of Punchbowl Farm by Monica Edwards - love her cats that went
badger-watchng with her.
A Fool and His Honey by Charlaine Harris
#5 Aurora Teagarden - a baby dumped on Aurora and a trip to Ohio. Nook
The School at None-Go-By by Ethel Talbot - I liked it in spite of its age;
a nice school with no bullying.
Poppy
Done to Death by
Charlaine Harris #6 Aurora Teagarden - the best one yet. Nook
Murder 101 by Maggie Barbieri #1 Murder 101
series - Alison Bergeron, college professor and vomiter. Annoying but readable. Nook
Extracurricular
Activities by
Maggie Barbieri #2 Murder 101 series. Alison still dogged by the
Mafia. Nook
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple - not a Jack Irish, still excellent. Set
in a Victorian coastal town.
Biddy's Secret by Elsie J. Oxenham - why didn't she own up? iPhone
Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris - #1 Lily Bard, gym junkie,
cleaner and detective. Nook
Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris - #2 Lily Bard set in small
town of Shakespeare Arkansas. Nook
Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris - #3 Lily Bard, she's got a
boyfriend now. Nook
Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris - #4 Lily Bard and she keeps
finding bodies. Nook
Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris - #5 Lily Bard: I like them.
Nook
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly - UFO in Antarctica. Very long, listened
to first half on trip to Adelaide. iPhone
A Question of Death by Kerry Greenwood - Phryne Fisher short stories and
beautiful pictures. library
My Dear Charlotte by Hazel Holt - letters in Jane Austen's style, murder?
iPhone
Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen - 1930s Scottish girl related to Royal Family,
murder. library
Buzz Off by Hannah Reid - murder in Wisconsin, bee-keeper detective
- good. Nook
What
I read in December 2011
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey - one of
my favourite books, reread on the Nook where it looks quite different.
The Chook Book by Jackie French - excellent, all about rearing and
raising chooks with recipes. Bought 2 for Christmas presents.
The Wedding Shawl by Sally Goldenbaum - murder in a New England knitting
store. Pattern for shawl, very difficult.
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey -
my tenth reading at least. All-time favourite. Nook
River Cottage Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - purchased for
my son but so good that I got one for myself.
At Knit's End, Meditations for Women who Knit Too
Much by Stephanie Pearl McPhee - learnt about 'tinking' which is
undoing knitting one stitch at a time (knit spelt backwards) or 'frogging'
where you take out the needles and ribbit ribbit ribbit.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Bailey - lovely, makes you
see snails differently
A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede - Regency
romance, unlikely but fun. Nook.
Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton #1 Aunt
Dimity - how can you have a series where the protagonist is dead? No hurry
to find out. Nook
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James - a
continuation of Pride and Prejudice but disappointingly lacking magic. iPhone
London Falling by Emma Carr - fun, chick lit. iPhone
Miss Glamora Tudor by Ilel Arbell - purports
to be an Angela Thirkell but so bad Angela must be spinning in her grave. Nook
An Abbey Champion by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham
- nice as usual. Nook
The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins - another P&P sequel lumbers
along until right at the end when tragedy strikes.
The Magical World of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Lane - lovely Christmas
present
Definitely Not Mr Darcy by Karen Doornebos
- still on the Jane Austen thread: modern-day reality TV series where contestants
have to live in Regency
times. Very good, I enjoyed it enormously. Nook
Their Exits and Their Entrances by Ilel Arbell
- even worse than the previous one. Angela Thirkell would never have set
a book in Hollywood. Nook
Real Murders by Charlaine Harris #1 Aurora
Teagarden series - cute, librarian heroine. Nook
A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris #2 Aurora
Teagarden series - lots of dead bodies. Nook
total of books read for 2011 is 190
What
I read in November 2011
I purchased a Nook Color in Los Angeles
in spite of the fact that Barnes & Noble don't support them in Australia.
However I have worked out how to side-load it through Calibre and have
purchased a subscription for eReadersLibrary where I can get anything -
almost. Some books like Dana Stabenow still have to be bought through Amazon
and onto iPhone but I wanted the Nook for its colour.
Practically
Perfect by Katie Fforde - first book on the Nook, fun romance
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson - October's Book Club
book. None of us liked it; turgid
and boring.
Spring Term by Sally Hayward in the style of Antonia Forest, another one
in the Marlows series. Loved it! Great job Sally!
One Foot in the Gravy by Delia Rosen - first
one through eReaders, chosen for cute title. Very good. Nook
Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
- November Book Club. Excellent, thought-provoking, will try to be a locavore.
Ruby Blues by Jessica Rudd - good, funny.
Jessica launching book at Library.
Invitation to Provence by Elizabeth Adler - predictable but nice
In This Mountain by Jan Karon - I can get all of
the Mitford books on Nook! Father Tim struggling with diabetes in this one, not
as good as others. Nook
A Common Life by Jan Karon - that's better! A short
happy book about Father Tim
and Cynthia's wedding. Nook
Light From Heaven by Jan Karon - how did I miss
this one? Father Tim and Cynthia
at Meadowgate. Nook
Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson, a Scumble
River mystery - not convinced but will try more in the series. Nook
A Finer End by Deborah Crombie a Gemma James police
procedural. Always a good
series this one set in Glastonbury. iPhone
The Camera Never Lies by Elizabeth Goddard a Christina detective story - ho hum
Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons - Jew in UK wants to be English - skipped
to end, didn't miss much.
What
I read in October 2011
On holiday for the month in Canada
and the US with lots of plane trips and a loaded iphone
4.
The
Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - loved it! Delightful
hero and heroine, interesting, good ending, iPhone
Sowing Secrets by Trisha Ashley, book
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Dead Water by Dana Stabenow #3 Kate Shugak
Damaris at Dorothy's by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham
A Cotswold Ordeal by Rebecca Taylor, book
Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M.
Montgomery
Anne of the Island by
L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
YES I WENT TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND!
A Cold-Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow #4 Kate Shugak
Joy's New Adventure by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham
A Tale of Castle Cottage by Susan Albert
Wittig - a Beatrix Potter murder mystery
Play with Fire by Dana Stabenow #5 Kate
Shugak
What I read in September 2011
Girls of the Hamlet Club by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham. iPhone
The Horses Too are Gone by Michael Keenan Book Club - thought it would
be awful but not: it's great!
Michael is so caring and dedicated you
have to warm to him - best of all he doesn't whinge. Everyone liked
it.
Mike and Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse - funny in a cool way. iPhone
Bedevilled Eggs by Laura Childs, Murder at the Cackleberry Club - idea
good but too many bodies.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - getting ready for trip to PEI.
iPhone
Monica Turns Up Trumps by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer - old school story, awful.
Much prefer Chalet School.
Loves Me, Loves Me Not edited by Katie Fforde -
27 short stories, mostly very good.
Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith - girl detective in England OK
The Fair Miss Fortune by D.E. Stevenson - new, previously unpublished,
nice romance.
The Setons by O. Douglas - WW1, minister's family, daughter Elizabeth
- delightful. iPhone
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Book Club - great character in
Holly Golightly, prefer the film
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich - fantasy, one good laugh
Penny Plain by
O. Douglas - Jean Jardine in Scottish villahe, loved it. iPhone
Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce - good
Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron - Jane Austen as detective.
What
I read in August 2011
A new trend - reading on my iPhone 4.
I like it: it's easy to flick the
pages over even if it is frequent due to the small size, the font
size is OK and I can get books that I can't access otherwise.
There are plenty
of free books but they're not always what you want to read, e.g.
Moby Dick etc which I've always avoided.
Why are there no Elsie Jeanette Oxenhams?
However, I have worked out how to convert the few EJOs that I have in
Word to ePub via Calibre and can read them on my iPhone.
Waiting rooms hold no fears of boredom
now!
Whisper
to the Blood by
Dana Stabenow - #16 Kate Shugak series set in Alaska.
The Love Verb by Jane Green - two sisters in the US, one dies, neeed a
tissue.
Indian Pipes by Cynthia Riggs - murder mystery set on Martha's Vineyard
with a 90-year old detective. Not likely-
especially the bit about her
being the sherriff's deputy - but nice sense of place and the Indian nation
bit is interesting.
A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow - #1 Kate Shugak. Starting at the
beginning and getting them from Amazon as ebooks.
This one free. David and I both addicted.
The Slap by Christos Tsioulkos - audio book from the Library. Too long!
We listened to Adelaide and back and still not finished so didn't bother.
A naughty child at a barbecue
is slapped by an adult not his parent. I'd have liked to slap him too. Child
and parents are intensely irritating and none of the characters is at all
sympathetic. It might be better as a film.
The Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow - #2 Kate Shugak, now have to pay but worth
it.
Shadows of the Past by Judith Cutler - an historical novel with Toby Campion.
Boring: her police procedurals are much better.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - free from ibooks.
Here Comes the Ride by Lorena McCourtney - great sequel to Your Chariot
Awaits which I love. Paid ebook.
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan. Free ebook.
Tomboys at the Abbey by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham - always a favourite.
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks - tedious though I loved the descriptions
of Martha's Vineyard.
A Day of Small Things by O. Douglas (John Buchan's wife) - free ebook
and utterly delightful!
I loved the Scottish setting and the nice people,
especially the heroine Nicola.
Happy House by Jane D. Abbott - free ebook. Anne Leavitt in Vermont in
place of her friend. Very nice.
A New Song by Jan Karon - always love the Mitford series. In this one
Father Tim and Cynthia go to the Leeward Islands.
The Koala of Death by Betty Webb - audio book. Entertaining, good zoo setting
but dragged out too much.
Ask Me No More by Anne Hepple - red-haired
Susan Minto in the Scottish borders, protecting her niece Mindy.
On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle - #1 coffee house murder. Background of NY
coffee shop more interesting than the murder.
Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle - #2 coffee house murder. Improbable
and I worked out the murderer.
Flora's Lot by Katie Fforde - best one yet. Flora inherits a share in an
auctioneering firm.
Clover by Susan Coolidge - rare as a book, 4th in the What Katy Did series,
free ebook.
Very good descriptions of Denver soon after settlement and
a charming romance for Clover.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster - delightful but free ebook doesn't have
the line drawings which I miss.
Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie
Barron - an excellent series.
Jane and brother Henry are at Brighton when
they encounter Lord Byron
What
I read in July 2011
Autumn
Term by Antonia
Forest - the Marlows and the best boarding school stories
End of Term by Antonia Forest - even better than the first one.
The Ready-Made Family - the Marlows at home:
Karen surprises everyone by marrying a widower with three children
Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery - a free audiobook by Libravox,
spoiled by having different narrators for each chapter each of whom does
a plug for Libravox.
Nine Parts Desire by Geraldine Brooks -
book group: life of Muslim women
The Cricket Term - by Antonia Forest: the Marlows back at Kingscote
Run Away Home by Antonia Forest - the Marlows at home and a slightly
unbelievable sailing adventure
The Marlows and their Maker by Anne Farrell - excellent recap and explanation
That Boarding School Girl by Dorita Fairlie Bruce - sadly dated
The Best Bat in the School by Dorita Fairlie Bruce - even more so
The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman - too much padding around the
interesting story of the cookbook collector
Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood - audiobook
from the Library. Good - but Phryne Fisher is too thin, clever, rich
and beautiful.
A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow - #17 Kate Shugak, set in Alaska and
stunning
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith - great
formula.
What
I read in June 2011
Love
Letters by Katie Fforde - Laura meets an Irish writer and cures his
writer's block.
Hiss of Death by Rita Mae Brown - cat mystery, Harry gets breast cancer.
Tedious.
Going Dutch by Katie Fforde - Jo and Dora on a barge with Marcus and
Tom.
Stately Pursuits by Katie Fforde - on a roll here with Katie Ffs from
Denise. Hetty looks after a beautiful old house.
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon - gentle Venetian mystery: heart
attack or murder?
Black Tide by Peter Temple: very good, Jack Irish exposes internatrional
cartel, new girlfriend.
Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones - teenage Crestomanci looking for
Millie
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde - Jennifer Strange gets a new
job. Supposedly for children but vg.
Gone with the Groom by Janice Thompson - Christian mystery, totally
pathetic.
How could anyone write: "I knew it with my knower"?
Wife Living Dangerously by Debra Kent - similarly pathetic. A good example
of a first-and-last book
i.e. you read the first chapter and the last chapter and that's all.
Wedding Season by Katie Fforde - three girls doing weddings get their
own boyfriends. Top-grade fluff!
What
I read in May 2011
Sing
You Home by
Jodie Picoult - at last she has stopped writing about sick children.
This one is very good, about two women's custody battle for the embryos
of one of them.
The Bookshop on Jacarandah Street by Marlish Glorie - set in Fremantle
which is an interesting setting
but all the men are swept off into retirement homes
or out in the sticks or used as sperm donors.
The Legacy by Kristin Tranter - book group and much more readable than
last month's - but there is a but again.
Our heroine is so darned detached that we end up not caring whether Ingrid
perished in 911 or not.
Daughters-In-Law by Joanna Trollope - audio book. Enthralling and irritating
in equal measure.
The mother-in-law is unusually controlling, no wonder
the d-in-ls rebel.
Oscar Wilde in A Death of No Importance by Giles Brandreth. Oscar Wilde
as detective and a very savage bloody murder.
Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson. I read them for the recipes but this
will be the last. Goldy Schulz's nosiness is getting to me.
The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit. Just a lovely children's fantasy where
the good end happily - that is what fiction means.
No Boats on Bannermere by Geoffrey Trease - teenagers find a mystery
in the Lake District
Under Black Banner - same teenagers and
another mystery. Great sense of place.
The Rose Revived by Katie Fforde - modern escapist fluff and gorgeous.
Three girls run a cleaning service, live on a barge and meet Mr Right.
Life Skills by Katie Fforde - two girls run a hotel barge, funny
Artistic Licence by Katie
Fforde -
Thea takes off to Ireland with Rory, a feckless charming artist.
What
I read in April 2011
The
Leopard by
Jo Nobes - hated it! Horrible serial killer with ingenious and nasty
ways to kill. Loathsome
The Black Cat by Martha Grimes
- another Jury & Melrose Plant detective, more light-hearted than usual
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett - audio book read by Celia Imrie
who does an excellent job. Funny
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
- I bought a new edition paperback by Persephone
Books with decorative end-papers and matching bookmark
so had to reread it for
the umpteenth time. Always delightful
Miss Buncle Married by D.E. Stevenson - this is
the book I'm taking to a desert island (along with Maud)
The Two Mrs Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson - while you're on a roll, keep going
Murder Past Due by Miranda James - very nice Maine
Coon cat, pathetic murder
mystery
The White Dog by Peter Temple - Jack Irish, alone and depressed, gets beaten
up too much but Melbourne setting always interesting
A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh - Troy Alleyn on a river cruise in England
At Home with Bill Bryson - audio book read by Bill - excellent.
Full of esoteric
knowledge about the history of our homes. Made me change to always putting the
lid down when flushing - so it's life-changing
Anna and Her Daughters by D.E. Stevenson - always a nice read
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde - not as good as its predecessors
but still a better read
than many
The Chinese Take-Out by Judith Cutler - Josie solves the mystery of the
deaths in the church
Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh - one I missed, Death at the Dolphin again
So Much For That by Lionel Shriver - book
group. An expose of the US health system.
Hated it to start with:
what a lot of nasty characters and the female protagonist totally unlikeable.
But the last quarter is really good, a reward for perseverance. No-one
in the group liked it.
Your Chariot Awaits by Lorena McCartney - hilarious whodunnit as our heroine
is left a limousine with a body in the trunk
What
I read in March 2011
I
have bought an iphone, which is reflected in the increase in audiobooks.
They
play well and if you're on your own in a quiet room you don't need
earphones.
I also was crook for a week and scurried to comfort reading towards
the end of the month!
Digging
to America by
Anne Tyler - book group, interesting discussion on inter-country adoptions
The Point in the Market by Michael Pearce,
unrest in Cairo in the 1920s - similar to current events
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver - terrific!
We had it at the Library for a group discussion, lots to say
Presumption by Julia Barrett - sequel
to Pride and Prejudice, better than some sequels but still doesn't
compete with the original
According to the Evidence by Bernard
Knight - 1950s pathologist in Wales, turgid
Holy Cow! by Sarah Macdonald - audio
book from the Library, well-read and very interesting as Sarah investigates
the religions of India - still don't want to go to India
Wait For Me by Deborah Devonshire - youngest Mitford sister, fascinating
life
Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon - book
group, police procedural set in Venice, lots of time off for lunch
Boomsday! by Christopher Buckley- audio
book on CD, very funny
Though Not Dead by Dana Stabenow
- #18 Kate Shugak - Alaskan thriller, excellent, will look for more
by this author
The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson -
always delightful
Can I Go There? by Anne Hepple - bought
in a garage sale, dated but charming romance set in the Borders
Fatal Flip by Peg Marsberg - interior decorator murder mystery, ho
hum
Second Thyme Around by Katie Fforde
- predictable and delightful
What I read in February 2011
Vanishing
Point by Carol Smith
The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaveria
Pulse by Julian Barnes
Blood Count by Robert Goddard - gloomy
A Cold Touch of Ice by Michael Pearce
- a Mamur Zapt mystery - very good
an interesting look at Egypt in the 1930s, not so different
Blood Line by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - a Bill Slider police procedural
A Food-Lover's Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela by
Dee Nolan - beautiful photos
Full Fathom Five by Kate Humphrey
Rosamund's Victory by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham
Bad Debts by Peter Temple - a Jack Irish
story - funny
Girl by Sea by Penelope Green
Life of Pi by Yana Martel - too long
Undead and Unwelcome by Mary Janice Davidson -
vampires, ghastly
Guardians for the Abbey by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham
Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd -
excellent!
Island to Abbey - EJO's work - by Stella Waring & Sheila Ray
Staging Death by Judith Cutler - disappointing
The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerny -
warm and delightful
Reflections by Gloria Cook
- poorly written, tedious
What I read
in January 2011
no cheating allowed: I'm confessing to everything
I was on a cruise around
New Zealand - which explains some of the books -
there's not much choice
on a cruise ship and I ran out of my own books.
Question: should one buy an iPad for such emergencies?
A Fiddler
for the Abbey by Elsie Jeanette Oxenham - always a delight
Death by Water, a Phryne Fisher mystery
by Kerry Greenwood
- Phryne is on a cruise around New Zealand, how appropriate!
Wild Designs by Katie Fforde - fun, trip to Chelsea Flower Show
Double Exposure by Carol Smith - friends on a Caribbean holiday
Jump! by Jilly Cooper - sex and horses,
perfect for a cruise
Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon #9 in
the Mitford series.
The only book in the
ship's library I wanted to read - and what a treat!
I'm a great fan of Jan Karon, whose books madden other people as
you're forever laughing out loud.
In this one Father Tim is lured back
to the small town of his childhood
and solves some long-standing mysteries.
Daphne by Justine Picardie, purchased
in Auckland.
Loved it: Daphne du
Maurier and her obsession with Branwell Bronte ties in with an enigmatic
Bronte scholar and a modern-day PhD student
Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Walker,
also Auckland.
Persuasion from the point of view of Frederick Wentworth -
gorgeous!
The Abbey Girls Play Up by Elsie Jeanette
Oxenham
Stowaways at the Abbey by EJO
Schooldays at the Abbey by EJO - all purchased
in Dunedin and greatly enjoyed for the 6th? 7th? time
Home from Home by Carol Smith - don't
do holiday swaps: your Manhattan house doesn't equal a Tuscan villa
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel
Barbery - I hate that she gets killed
Scat by Carl Hiassen - bought at Canberra
airport from the adult section:
it's a children's book but very good. All the usual Carl Hiassen ingredients
of endangered Florida swamps, strong, silent hero, funny - but this
time no sex.
Murder While You Work by Susan Scarlett
aka Noel Streatfeild, republished by Greyladies of Edinburgh.
Written in 1944 as a potboiler, stands up very well today.
Judy Rest
is a feisty heroine involved in a murder mystery at her billet.
Love
all the background stuff of working in a wartime munitions factory.
Hidden Agenda by Carol Smith - harrowing.
Olivia pushes herself into girls' friendship
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery - read
online as an e-book while husband watched the tennis.
Still my favourite
LMM.
   
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