Monthly Archives: June 2011

The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Ela

(Project Gutenberg e-book, originally published 1868) Regarded by some as the first English detective novel, this exciting and interesting novel is told from a variety of different viewpoints. The plot is easily summarised. On the death of her uncle, Colonel … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Fiction, Filmed adaptations, Re-read, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Of Mutability – Jo Shapcott

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Ela

(Faber & Faber 2010) This slim volume of around fifty poems, most of them short or very short, won the Costa Book of the Year last year. Thinking that I needed to read a bit more poetry, I picked this … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Poetry, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Poetry: The Windhover

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Ela

I saw this poem on a Jubilee line train* the other morning, and liked it so much I thought I’d post it. You can find the original on Bartleby, as I did, from a 1918 collection of Hopkins’ poems. I CAUGHT this … Continue reading →

Posted in Not A Review, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Anthologist – Nicholson Baker

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Ela

(ARC, Simon & Schuster 2009) I saw this ARC* at my parents’ and picked it up, having read Jenny’s positive review of the book back in May. The Anthologist is the story of poet Paul Chowder, struggling with the introduction … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sex and the City – Candace Bushnell

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Ela

(originally published 1997) I read this while at my parents’ house and so don’t have a copy to refresh my memory. This is a collection of Bushnell’s newspaper columns, originally written in the New York Observer from 1994, and detailed … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Filmed adaptations, Journalism, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hearts and Minds – Rosy Thornton

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Ela

Apologies for not posting for a few days – I’ve been very busy and away from home this week (to the Netherlands, for work), so my posting schedule has been delayed. However, my trip away allowed me to read Dickens’ … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Feminism, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps – Michel Faber

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Ela

(Canongate 2008, originally published 2001) “This book exists because Keith Wilson, Artist in Residence at Whitby Abbey during summer 2000, asked me to come and write a short story inspired by the English Heritage dig…” writes Faber in the Acknowledgements. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Novels by Alistair MacLean – part 2

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Ela

The first part of my mini-review of MacLean’s thrillers is here, while part two follows below. Night Without End (1959) was MacLean’s fifth novel. It’s told in the first-person by Dr Mason, who with two companions – an Inuit called … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Filmed adaptations, Historical fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blood Bound – Patricia Briggs

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Ela

(Orbit e-book, 2007) I remarked in my review of the first of this series that, while I enjoyed the book, it wasn’t sufficiently different from other such paranormal fantasy novels as to make it worthwhile reading the rest of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Fantasy, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments