Where do we start with April? Probably not with the rain, so I will gloss over that or perhaps swim? Of which I did plenty and also managed a number of 50 lengths in half an hour. Which is great and gives me something to work on – next stop 64 lengths.
As regular readers of my blog will know, I theme my wrap up posts with the genre of books I have read through the month, and April’s will be no different. One slight change is those books which I have yet posted about on my blog will be marked with a star. (*) The review will have appeared on Amazon but not on my blog, because sometimes there are other bits and pieces that I want to talk about and share.
Let us start with crime. Classic crime came in the form of Agatha Christie and Cards on the Table as I had recently caught it on the television. I have also started a page at the top of this blog for the observant, listing all Christie’s stories and as I read through them, I will be marking them off the list. I have no end date for this project just the satisfaction that I have read them.
Staying in the same era, I picked up Simon Brett’s Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King’s Daughter. I have read his Fethering Mysteries and spotted this in the library. I was rather disappointed with it and felt it was not on a par with Carole and Jude. But it passed some time. Graham Hurley’s Turnstone* was a visit back to familiar territory with the author but also the setting, as his books are based in my home city of Portsmouth.
I went for some more high octane crime with two new authors this month – Barry Lyga and I Hunt Killers* young adult fiction which was rather enjoyable and would be a good book if youngsters wanted something to progress to thriller wise. The other was a book Siege by Simon Kernick. I actually read this in a day, which is not unusual it was just so good that I had to keep reading, I wanted to know what happened, a real page turner. Both books kindly sent by publishers for review and to be honest not ones that I would have considered reading at all. It is exciting to discover books and authors.
The last fnished book of the month was The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett*. I got this free on my kindle from Project Gutenberg after having seen it mentioned on Katrina and Jane’s blogs. (Links take you to their reviews). As I love stories that are set in such settings, having worked in a hotel for a brief time, I wanted to see what the book was like.
Away from crime there was still more reading. I revisited a number of authors I have read before; Pauline McLynn – Better Than a Rest was the second of her private detective Leo Street novels. I finished the Travelling Matchmaker series of novels (novellas as they are short) by M.C.Beaton with Yvonne Goes to York*. I was invited also to The Garden Party by Sarah Challis but left early due to a disappointing plot-line and characters. (I actually did finish the book though in the vain hope of something else)
I was also back with Katie Fforde and was Living Dangerously with her. Katie is a new author to me, only starting to read her books this year and during April I somehow managed to acquire a number of them and I have plans for the Bank Holiday Monday for one of them, the settee and tea and cake!
New authors continued with the debut novel by Camilla Macpherson – Pictures at an Exhibition which I selected from an Amazon Vine choice. It was a book which had promise and the author I am sure will develop as she writes more.
Something that was developing was reading Graham McCann – Only Fools and Horses: The Story of Britain’s Favourite Comedy*. This charted Britain’s best loved comedy from inception to its end and was an interesting non-fiction read for me. Although I learnt nothing new it gave me the chance to indulge in YouTube and clips which I will share in my review.
April had me attending two ‘bookish’ type events. I picked up Alison Weir’s new novel A Dangerous Inheritance when I went to see her talk at The Mary Rose Museum. I am actually still reading this, not because it is dreadful far from it, but I am savouring it and I really do not want it to end. Alas I know it will.
My other event was the newbooks Reader’s Day which I attended Saturday just gone. I have never been to such an event before now, but I will be going to such things again. I will devoting a separate blog post about it during the week, if you have time please pop back.
Now for May……
The Book Jotter 