Hello peeps, well we have done very little at Twiggy Towers today, it's very cold, snowy and icy, we attempted to take a pile of rubbish to the tip but it was closed due to the weather (2nd attempt since Christmas!) so we had a snowy scenic drive, however it was so grey there was no point taking any photos.
We are now just mooching, which makes a nice change, roast lamb cooking in the oven, glass of wine nearby and a bit of The Alarm playing in the background, smashing.
Anyhoo, I really do intend to read more this year and push the boundaries a bit as I always seem to stick to crime fiction and have my usual favourite, Stephen Booth (lovely chap, we met him last Summer at a reading event), Ian Rankin (ditto) and Peter Robinson (ditto) crime writers are a sociable lot aren't they :) Ann Cleeves (haven't met her :) Reginald Hill (never met him).
Do you have favourite books? the two I always return to when I'm ill or out of sorts are Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and The Magic Cottage by James Herbert, pretty eclectic choice!!
My lovely mother in Law bought me a book for Christmas (I always look forward to a Christmas read) it was Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis.
Now reading the synopsis it was right up my street, a ghostly mystery, but flippin heck I found it hard work.
I was determined to finish it as it was a gift but I did struggle, perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind.
Ho hum.
Mind you I have struggled with a few books that have been recommended to me over the years, Ulysses by James Joyce, Lord of the Rings and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, still have them all, still can't stick with them.
Mr Twigs loves science fiction and whenever I used to see Douglas Adams interviewed and Terry Pratchett, I thought they were fantastic and incredibly funny but I just can't get into their books and we have lots of them!
Mr Twigs is very well read (his parents are both retired English teachers, so he didn't have a choice :) and tells me I must read all the Sherlock Holmes books, I've only read Hound of the Baskervilles, which I did thoroughly enjoy. I haven't read much Dickens either, so if you have any recommendations please throw them in the mix.
I have a need to read!!
Keep cosy.
Twiggy
The Magic Cottage is brill Twiggy. It's like Escape To The Country with some supernatural magic. Peter Tinniswood was my favourite northern English author. His creation 'Uncle Mort' was the work of a genius. "I Didn't You Cared" was the television version. Dear Uncle Mort had an allotment with it's own railway carriage for a shed. What more could anybody want?
ReplyDeleteAs you know I read crime fiction too. But I also read other things. In the past I usually soldiered on with books that I wasn't over keen on or were difficult to get into but last year I decided life was too short and abandoned more than a couple.. Prior to that I had given up on We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver and a Prayer for Owen Meany and large tome Jonathan Strange and Dr Norris. Some of the Scandanavian crime books don't flow too well but I wonder if that is something to do with the translation so I persevere with those.
ReplyDeleteLife is MUCH too short to read Dickens! I love the look of Alice Thomas Ellis books as you say they look and sound as if they should be good, but every time I've tried I give up after a couple of pages and think eh no can't be doing with this
ReplyDeleteLamb n wine...drooling now Twiggy. Funny enough just before the lurgy housebound me I picked up a few books from the charity shop...Jamaica inn, The Jungle book, Journey the center of the earth, Moby Dick and Easy made wine....I bet you can't guess which one has my attention at the moment? ;-)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Watership down, which was ok ish, I picked up The Plague Dogs by Mr. Adams....certainly not a fluffy bunny book and it held me engrossed till the last page was turned...with dark humour running through I thought it a tremendous book. Well that's my opinion anyways :-)
Dear Twiggy
ReplyDeleteI would suggest starting with A Christmas Carol on the Dickens front. It is reasonably short and you know the story, but I found the book superior to any adaptation I've seen yet. If you decide to give another one a go, I'd suggest Great Expectations, David Copperfield and then Nicholas Nickleby. (Have a look at films or TV dramas to give you an idea of the stories if you're not familiar with them). Dickens writes terrific stories but as these were originally in episodic form, there can be a bit of stuff to wade through until you get to the exciting bits again. Also, I always think of him as an Autumn/Winter writer (to be enjoyed with a cuppa, chocolate or cake and a roaring fire for best effect!)
I hope you give him a go.
Best wishes
Ellie
Oh blogger is being a bad blogger tonight. I have had to swap computers to do this. Anyway, Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier is brilliant. I borrowed it from my friend and really did not think that I would like it but I really could not put it down! Then I tried Jamaica Inn. The book is waaayyyy better than any of the TV or film versions, much creepier and darker. However, I have tried several times to read Rebecca but given up. Wierd. Well those are my offerings and I have read 1 Dicken's novel and I personally prefer Jane Austen books which I studied for my A level English many moons ago and I quite like some Shakespear too.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite books are autobiographies, I have a pile awaiting me.
ReplyDeleteI do not favor mysteries or crime stories or love stories. I used to read everything. Now, even if a story seems good, if the book is not well-written, I give it about 50 pages and then back it goes to the library. I like non-fiction and good historical novels and classical fiction.
ReplyDeleteIve been curling up reading these last few weeks. I have amassed a million and one books from charity shops and I now have a bit of spare time to read them! xxx
ReplyDeleteI never managed to get more than about 1/3 of the way through Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of go-to reads: 'The Magic Apple Tree' by Susan Hills (a year in the life of a household not so very far from where I grew up, very comforting reading and some excellent recipes), and 'Creature Comforts' by Sylvia Fenton (autobiographical, the second and last book by a lady who gave up a high flying career to move to the countryside and rescue animals).