November has turned out to be a rather good reading month, in purely numerical terms I did well because two or three of the books I read were thin ones. Those of you paying particular attention may notice two books on the list that I haven’t reviewed here. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy and The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman I read and reviewed for Shiny New Books – I think the next issue comes out at the end of this week, but I confess I’ve forgotten precisely. Quite a mix of things too; from the brilliant, Company Parade, a slow, thoughtful read but very impressive, to a book celebrating bookshops, Elizabeth Bowen’s second novel, complex and beautifully written for an online discussion group, Edith Wharton’s wartime observations and a sci-fi/dystopian novel for my book group, phew! 11 books in all completed and I’m half way through Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness.
110 The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (2014) Rachel Joyce (F)
111 Company Parade (1934) Storm Jameson (F)
112 The Bookshop Book (2014) Jen Campbell (NF)
113 Fighting Frace (1915) Edith Wharton (NF)
114 The Peculiar life of a Lonely Postman (2014) Denis Thѐriault (F)
115 The Hotel (1927) Elizabeth Bowen (F)
116 Temporary Kings (1973) Anthony Powell (F)
117 Aunt Sass Christmas stories (1941-1944) P L Travers (F)
118 Love in the Sun (1939) Leo Walmsley (F)
119 The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) John Wyndham (F)
120 Parson’s Nine (1932) Noel Streatfield (F)
My stand out reads for the month were:
Company Parade by Storm Jameson, a brilliant novel, a slow read, but I loved this introduction to her writing.
Temporary Kings by Anthony Powell – the 11th book in the Dance to the Music of time sequence, I found it really very compelling.
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham, was a big surprise to me, really didn’t expect to love it quite as much as I did, hard to put down and gave me lots to think about.
Parson’s Nine by Noel Streatfield – although not frothy or silly, this does fall slightly into the cosy reading category and it kept me company through a busy, tiring week, loved spending time with these characters.
So on to December – the final month of 2014 – goodness how time does fly.
The start of the month will all be about Willa Cather week, I will start early after I have finished with the brilliant Radclyffe Hall. I am so looking forward to reading a couple of Cather back to back. Still haven’t finally decided which to read, I suppose I will surprise you. Though I am also looking forward to seeing what everyone else decides to read, and what you think. This week on the blog I might be a bit quiet – I’ll see how things go (it’ll depend on work) – but plan on posting a few Cather related things the following week.
After that I will wait to see where my mood takes me. I will naturally be reading the final Anthony Powell, Hearing Secret Harmonies – though later in the month than I usually do. I have a couple of Christmassy books set aside for Christmas week, Nancy Mitford’s Christmas Pudding, and The Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farejeon from the British Library Crime Classics.
As always would love to hear what you all plan on reading, especially if you’ll be reading Willa Cather. Please help spread the Cather word, on your blogs, on Twitter – wherever.
