What I’m reading, with one or two line reviews (sometimes).
February 2008
I Clavdivs, Robert Graves
Tiger, Tiger, Lynne Reid Banks - I read this at my daughter’s urging, and it was great - an excellent portrait of Roman high society when the empire was on the cusp, and a good way of introducing children to the concept, and evils, of slavery.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories, Susanna Clarke - Fairy tales, but not at all suitable for children. These fairies are grown-ups, with sharp edges.
January 2008
Killing Floor, Lee Child - The first Jack Reacher novel, this is punchy, and fun, if just a little too implausible in places. But I think I am done reading these thrillers for a few months now.
Unpolished Gem, Alice Pung - Vivid account of an immigrant childhood, with polished gems of brilliant writing on every page.
Anthony and Cleopatra, Colleen McCulloch - Entertaining, and an interesting contrast to Rome, but too much was compressed into too little space. Nevertheless, a great conclusion to the her Masters of Rome series.
December 2007
The Hard Way, Lee Child - Again, competent and enjoyable.
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry - I wept.
The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot - Depressing.
November 2007
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold - Lyrical, and reflective, but ever so slightly hammy.
Cities, John Reader - Fascinating content, but recounted in such a dull style that I couldn’t force myself to finish it.
Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
October 2007
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
The Enemy, Lee Child - A competent, enjoyable thriller, which has reactivated my reading impulse.
A bit of a hiatus, because my mind is too full to concentrate on anything, so I’m faffing around with magazines for a few days.
September 2007
These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder - Yes, I read the lot, and now I’m reading them to my daughters, with interesting results.
Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder - Work, work, work, and Indians, Indians, Indians.
Persuasion, Jane Austen - This love story about two mature adults is both autumnal, and satisfying.
August 2007
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley - Weird, layered, and too heavy with meaning for my liking.
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas - Long, meandering, and dull - I gave up, and found a plot summary on Wikipedia instead.
Villette, Charlotte Bronte - As Thackeray said, a plaguey book, which I found very unsettling: I have written a post about it here.
Descartes, A. C. Grayling
July 2007
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte - An edgy Cinderella story, which I have read many times, finding new insights as I get older.
Heidi, Johanna Spryi - Far too sappy.
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder - I am astonished and humbled by how much hard physical work they had to do.
8 responses so far ↓
Hamishm // Thursday 19 July 2007 at 9:28 am
I read ‘Little House in the Big Woods’ to my daughter for bed time reading last year. It’s a great story and really made me appreciate just how tough their lives were. Good chance to explain how differently we think about things these days when Ma talks about the Native Americans.
Deborah // Tuesday 7 August 2007 at 10:00 pm
Good tip, thanks. I have started reading it to my girls, and they are fascinated by it.
Raindreamer // Friday 12 October 2007 at 8:31 pm
Persuation is one of my favourites too.
Donna // Saturday 16 February 2008 at 12:14 am
Deborah I read Unpolished Gem recently (for bookclub - but also becos it’s set in Footscray, which is the new ‘chez moi’
and we walk past the Retravision everyday. I’m still to chicken to go in though and see if it’s Alice Pung’s father working in there.
jgrab1 // Wednesday 12 March 2008 at 1:07 pm
Deborah: You seem to be a very broadly read and intelligent person, a real “Renaissance Woman.” This is so gratifying to see, and so far I am greatly enjoying your blog. (Nice masthead, too.) Might I suggest the challenging book Voltaire’s Bastards by John Ralston Saul. You won’t agree with everything he says (or at least I don’t, and I think I’m pretty broad and tolerant), and his targets are everywhere. But he will make you think and see old things anew if you wade all the way through it.
Keep up the blog!
Carol // Friday 27 June 2008 at 1:24 pm
Deborah, have you read any of Phillip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart series? They’re set in Victorian times, but Sally is a thoroughly contemporary heroine. I’m just re-reading ‘The Tin Princess’ and being reminded of how wonderful they are.
I loved your comments on ‘editing Narnia’!
Carol // Saturday 28 June 2008 at 7:29 pm
By the way, the segue from Phillip Pullman to Narnia was not quite as random as it might appear. Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’ trilogy (including The Golden Compass, which was recently made into a film) was conceived of as an anti-Narnia exercise, in opposition to the overt religious themes of Narnia. And the sexism, we might add.
Deborah // Saturday 28 June 2008 at 9:10 pm
I’m a Phillip Pullman fan too, not least because he deals so thorougly to the saccharine religiosity of Narnia.
Reading your comments here (with delight!) reminds me that I must get around to updating this page….
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