Thursday 31 March 2016

March 2016 Reading Summary

March has spun by. We finally have had a few sunny days in a row which is lovely. Temperatures have been in the mid-teens (Celsius that is) which for you Fahrenheit users, the low 60s. I will have to get up off my lazy butt and start cleaning up the yard. It's full of branches and stuff... Oh well, it will happen sooner rather than later.

So on to the important things; my March 2016 Reading summary. I have to say March was an outstanding month for me, probably one of my best ever. I did read a few books that were less that 250 pages so I'm sure that helped, but I also read more total pages than any other month this year. I think part of my reading success, if you want to call it that, was my enjoyment of the books of short stories that I've begun to read. Some of the books were excellent.

As an aside, I have had a bit of an idea for a book of my own, partly based on the current election antics that are taking place in the US of A these past few months. Will anything come of this idea? Who knows.

So here we go, my March Reading Summary -

GENERAL

Goodreads Challenge
In March, I completed 13 books. My total for 2016 is 32. According to Goodreads, I'm 8 books ahead of my overall total of hoping to read 100 books this year. Total pages read in March were 4,257 for an overall total in 2016 of 10,341. I haven't set a total number of pages but in the past three years, my total has varied from 29,000 to 35,000. I guess I'm on the way to finishing around that level.

Page Breakdown
       <250   - 5 books
250 - 350   - 2 books
351 - 450   - 3 books
       >450   - 3 books

Author Gender
                                            Mar                     Total
Male                                     8                         21
Female                                 5                         11

Genre
                                             Mar                    Total
Fiction                                   3                         4
Biography                             1                         1
Mystery/ Adventure              6                        15
Classic (pre-1900)                1                          2
Horror                                   1                         4
Science Fiction/ Fantasy      1                         4
Humour                                1                         1
Travel                                                              1
(Short Story included in others  - Mar/ 5,  Total / 7)

Ratings
                                            Mar                     Total
5*                                          4                         7
4*                                          4                         11
3*                                          5                         14

CHALLENGES

12 + 4 Reading Group Challenge (completed 10 - 16)
I finished 4 more books in this challenge. 3 were average entertaining reads while the other was one of my favourites so far this year. Below is the list of those books completed plus my reviews.


1. The Deep by Nick Cutter (Horror) (3 stars)

"The earth is in the throes of some sort of pandemic, the 'Gets', short for forgets. People begin to forget how to do anything, ultimately even eating. Mankind is being decimated. A small group of scientists are on the ocean floor in the Pacific, trying to harvest something called 'ambrosia', which may have properties that might cure the disease. Luke, a veterinarian who has lost his family, is called to the site by his brother, a famous scientist, and finds himself being transported deep to the facility below the waves, claustrophobic in its own right. But what he finds below is even worse than simple claustrophobia. What is ambrosia? How and why is it affecting the scientists so drastically. A tense, spooky story set in a location that you can't just leave if you want. Almost overloading the senses with creepiness. This is Cutter's second horror story after The Troop. He has a unique perspective. The story is gruesome but more tightly written than the first. I don't know which I enjoyed more, but it was definitely an exciting read. Worth giving a shot to. (3 stars)"

2. Hitman; Forty Years of Making Music by David Foster (Biography) (3 stars)

"David Foster is a Canadian music producer who has been in the business for over 40 years. He's had success writing for and producing such artists as Whitney Houston, Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, The Corrs, etc. He's won many Grammys and other awards and is also deeply involved in charity work for his David Foster foundation. This book provides a glimpse at his life and his involvement with the music world. It's not overly deep; you won't find out many secrets about his life or his way of thinking, but the bit he shares is interesting. It's obvious, from reading this that he is in the life that he wanted to be in and it's also evident that for a long time his work took a front seat over family and relationships, hence his various marriages and relationships. At the same time, he has tried to be involved with family and over the years, has tried to make amends and develop stronger relationships with his children. It was enjoyable to read and to find out some of the things that have made this talented producer tick. (3 stars)"

3. Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper (Horror/ Mystery) (3 starts)

"I'm not sure exactly what to say about this story. Is it a mystery, the trial of the man suspected of killing two girls in a small Ontario town? Is it a horror story, the Lady of the Lake, who reaches beyond the lake to attract young girls to their death in the lake? Is it a discovery of ones self, the lawyer, who has hidden his past with drugs and such, a past that has affected his life to the extreme and who finds himself back where it all began? It's definitely an interesting story, but I don't know if the questions have been satisfactorily been answered for me. I mean there is a resolution and the story kept me turning pages to see what would happen next, but it left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. The main character, Bartholomew Crane, the lawyer sent to Murdoch, Ontario to defend the man accused of killing two school girls, isn't a very likable character. He obviously has many personal issues, which originate from a tragic incident that occurred when he was a teenager. He is drug addled throughout the story, is haunted by his past and by the ghosts of the two girls (maybe) and the Lady (maybe). Or is he just hallucinating? The man charged with the crime does little to help his own case. He is also dealing with issues, especially the divorce that took his daughter from him and he also is haunted. There are many things going on. Does Crane come to a resolution about his past? Sort of. You can judge for yourself. Was the story worth the effort to read through these 400+ pages? Sure, I guess so. It did move along fairly nicely. It won't stop me trying the other Andrew Pyper story I have on my shelves but I won't rush to do so. (3 stars)"

4. Beast in View by Margaret Millar (Mystery) (5 stars)

"Beast In View was a true gem. I've enjoyed a couple of Margaret Millar's other books in the past few years, when I've been able to find copies. The Soft Talkers was one of my favourites of last year. Beast in View is another 5-star read. It's such an interesting story. I love how Millar develops her plots. Is it about Helen Clarvoe, who lives alone in her apartment, isolated from the world about her? Is it about Mr. Blackshear, Helen's financial adviser, bored with his work. Helen asks him to help her find the woman who made the distressing call to Helen and he begins to conduct an investigation on Helen's behalf? Or is it about Evelyn Merrick, the woman who makes the initial call to Helen and who seems to be making many calls to other people that have upset her? I loved how it moved along, from the one character to the other, how the tension builds, how the story surprisingly makes a turn to the left. Excellent, excellent!! She is such a wonderful writer."

2016 Individual Reading Challenges

One Book Per Decade (I've read one book for 6 decades and one extra for one. Total 6 +1 of 12)

1. 1900 - 1909. The Best of Saki by H.H. Munro (Fiction/ short stories) (5 stars)

"I heard about Saki (AKA H.H. Munro), a British short story writer from the early 1900's only by chance. I found this book while wandering through a used book store in Kingston, Ontario and bought it partly because I liked the binding. Now that I've read the collection of short stories, I can honestly say how glad that I was to have taken the chance on this book. Saki's stories are funny, witty, sharp and to the point. Each story runs from 3 to 6 pages and each is concise and exact and so well-written. The foreword mentions that writers such as PG Wodehouse, of the Wooster and Jeeves stories, were influenced by Saki's works. I can see the similarities in humour, although Saki is more biting. I was not bored by any of the stories, and there are many in the collection, some made me laugh out loud, some chuckle and many had me thinking about the mind that created them. I don't know if you'll find a similar collection anywhere else. It was an excellent, most enjoyable read. (5 stars)"

2. 1920 - 1929. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster (4 stars)

"A Passage to India continues my enjoyment of the stories of E.M. Forster, along with Howard's End and A Room with a View. A Passage to India offers a story of the British rule in India, the differences between the Indian nationals and the English establishment as well as even some of the differences between the Muslim and Hindu Indians. The story focuses on a young woman, Miss Quested, who has newly arrived in a small community with her escort, Mrs. Moore. She is ostensibly there to see if she and Mrs. Moore's son Ronnie are a fit for marriage. Miss Quested wants to see the real India and she and Mr. Moore go with an Indian doctor to explore the Caves at Marabar. There is an incident at the caves which turns the community upside down, causes great turmoil for Doctor Aziz and further explores those attitudes between Indian and English. So very well - written, easy to read, thoughtful and an interesting story. Well-worth trying. (4 stars)"

3. 2000 - 2009. The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates (Mystery/ short stories) (4 stars)

"This was my first exposure to Joyce Carol Oates and it was an enjoyable experience. Excellent short stories, some quite perfect, most very good. Her writing style is quite different from anyone else that I've read. I love how she is able to create a mood with her writing, to describe a picture. All of the stories managed to leave me feeling unsettled and there were often nice little twists that I didn't see coming. More suspense than mystery, but that doesn't matter. The Hunter was probably my favourite, felt like an episode of the best crime series. Some of the endings left me confused, but that is probably a good thing. That is the only reason that I give it a 4 instead of a 5. However, each story is a gem and I highly recommend. Another author I'll have to explore more."

Science Fiction/ Fantasy/ Horror (completed 3 of 12)

1. Perdido Street Station by China MiĆ©ville (SciFi/ Fantasy) (5 stars) *My favourite book in March*

"Wow! My first exposure to China MiƩville's writing and I'm so very impressed. Call it a combination science fiction/ fantasy. China has created such a unique world in New Crobuzon and wonderfully described and written characters and species. New Crobuzon is a city that is built beneath the ribs of some ancient creature. It is filled with humans, other species and also remade creatures (a form of punishment) and also mechanical creatures. It's basically a dictatorship masked as a democracy. Crime is rife, the city is a maze of districts and it's all so interesting. The story is a slow - burn at first; rebel scientist Isaac is asked by a garuda (a flying creature) to help him get his wings back, as they had been removed as a punishment. Isaac's girlfriend, a khedri (an insectoid - type creature) is an artist who has been commissioned by the city's biggest criminal, to do a statue of him/ her (he is a remade to the extreme). Isaac, while exploring theories of flight, has a petty thief find him specimens of as many flying creatures as he can, including eggs, so he can explore flight and see how he can help the Garuda. Unfortunately, one of the eggs contains a slake moth (one of the most horrific fictional beasts you will ever read about, I think) and when it hatches, it escapes and sets in motion the rest of the story. The City governors have had 4 other adult slake moths as prisoners. When they all escape, the whole city is in danger. This leads to the 2nd half of the story, a fascinating chase by Isaac, Derkhan, another friend and my favourite character, and the Garuda to try and stop the Slake Moths. I hope I haven't told too much of the story; just suffice to say it's fascinating and worth the read. 5 stars (I've since ordered the next book about the New Crobuzon world, Scar (although it's supposedly not necessarily a sequel). I can't wait!!"

Classics (pre-1900) (completed 2 of 4)

1. Four Short Stories by Elizabeth Gaskell (Fiction/ Short stories) (5 stars)

"This collection of short stories contains 4 stories by writer, Elizabeth Gaskell; The Three Eras of Libbie Marsh (1847), Lizzie Leigh (1855), The Well of Pen-Morfa (1850) and The Manchester Marriage (1858). From the introduction by Anna Walters, they were unique not only because they were written by a woman but also for the subject matter. Popular at that time were stories of the upper classes, where women chiefly looked to be married to fulfil their lives. Gaskell's stories featured women as the protagonists, women who were of the lower classes, who had to struggle to live, single mothers, seamstresses, prostitutes. The stories are hard looks at life, but at the same time, feature tenderness, love and even optimism. I loved how she crafted these tales, well-written, well-described and thoughtful. They were very much a pleasure to read as Gaskell creates such excellent pictures and characters and stories. This was my first experience with Gaskell's writing and I'm very happy that I was able to experience her talent. (5 stars)  "

Ongoing Series (completed 9 of 50ish)

1. The Treatment by Mo Hayder (4 stars)

"This is the 2nd book in the Jack Caffery mystery/ thriller series. I felt many of the same frustrations with this book that I felt with the first book, Birdman. Caffery is a cop with many issues, most trailing back to the disappearance and possible murder of his brother, Ewan, back when they were both children. He became a cop partly because he wanted to stop other people from murdering, committing crimes. He still lives in his family house and is haunted by his brother's presence and by his neighbour, the man who he thinks abducted and maybe abused and murdered his brother. Compound that with the troubles he's coping with from his girlfriend, Rebecca, who he met through a previous case and who is dealing with her own demons and you've kind of got a Rebus on steroids. The case is very interesting, the murder and abuse of a young boy (flashbacks to his brother's case??) while his parents were held prisoner in the same house. Caffery works on this case but at the same time, his past and his dealings with Rebecca are a constant distraction. Another family is currently being held prisoner and the clock is ticking. It's a very suspenseful story even with the frustrations. I do really like his boss, DI Souness; she's a breath of fresh air when you need it. For all the frustrations, it's at times spellbinding. There are a few other books in the series, so I'll be looking for them. (4 stars)"

2. The Chase by Clive Cussler (3.5 stars)

"This is my first experience with Clive Cussler and I enjoyed very much. A nice, well-paced historical thriller with car chases, train chases, bank robberies, all good stuff. I especially found the bit about the San Francisco earthquake interesting as I had read a book about those events last year and it reminded me of that excellent story. Isaac Bell is an interesting character, son of a rich banker who has chosen to fight crime and now chases a bank robber/ murderer for the Van Dorn Detective agency. He's definitely larger than life but still thoughtful. The killer is also interesting, a sociopath who thrives on the thrill of the robberies he commits and cares not for life. An extreme challenge for Bell. An interesting time in history, pre WWI as the US is becoming a major power but still a bit of a wild frontier. Most enjoyable. 3.5 stars"

3. Pieces of Modesty by Peter O'Donnell (3 stars)

"The Modesty Blaise series is a fun, entertaining, action-packed thrill ride. Modesty is a larger than life heroine, a one-time master criminal who lead the Network, ably assisted by her right-hand man and best friend, Willie Garvin. Now retired, she still helps British Intelligence when requested by her friend, Sir Gerald Tarrant, as she does in the 2nd story, The Giggle Wrecker. But more often than not, she just gets caught up in situations, finding herself and Willie rescuing friends from unfortunate situations. She is matter of fact, a marksman, physically talented in hand-to-hand combat and at the same time, a lady and with a strong moral compass about what is right and wrong. I enjoyed this series of short stories, all entertaining and finding Modesty in Britain, Finland and the Mediterranean. Best story for me was I Had a Date with Lady Janet, where we saw Willie in the major role, forced to save Modesty from an old enemy. Lots of fun and an enjoyable read."

4. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers (4 stars)

"This book contains 12 mysteries featuring Dorothy Sayers' famous sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey and each was unique in its own right and all were interesting and entertaining. I've grown to like Lord Peter very much as I've begun to explore this series. Short stories can be so hit or miss. It all depends on how quickly the author can get into the story and grab your attention and then come to a satisfying resolution. Dorothy Sayers succeeded with this much to my satisfaction. Lord Peter is such a wonderful character and the stories helped develop his character even more. He loves a mystery, loves to snoop and explore diverse situations, and is intelligent at coming up with logical solutions. I loved each story and was very surprised by the last one, The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba as it was quite different from all of the others. Excellent, entertaining read. (4 stars)"

Non-Fiction (completed 1 of 6)

None completed in March.

So there you have my reading update. For your interest, these are the 4 books I'm starting April with.

1. The Blue Lenses and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier (Short stories)

2. The Lyre of Orpheus by Robertson Davies (Canadian Fiction)

3. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (Mystery)

4. One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson (History)

Saturday 26 March 2016

The Short Story

Back in my university years, 1974 - 78, after I decided in 2nd year that Political Science and History really weren't the courses on which I wanted to focus, I had to find another route to finish off my next two years. I chose English and pretty well for the next two year took nothing but English courses. You can throw a Film course into the mix, but I think I pretty well took nothing else my last two years.

Some worked; the Canadian Literature course, the Science Fiction novel course, but some didn't as well; the Classics (I mean really, did I actually want to read all of Ulysses) or the Short Story, as examples. I don't know what it was about the Short story that I didn't really enjoy, maybe it was the stories we took or that it seemed to focus on how to write a short story. Something anyway, because I can't really remember that much about the course, or what we even read. I have a feeling there might have been some Mark Twain and others of his ilk. Needless to say, I didn't often search out collections of short stories to fill my time.

What was it that turned me off? It might have been that you can't really get great character and plot development into such a short time frame. The writer has to be very successful, in a short time, in grabbing your attention, making his/ her point and then summing up satisfactorily. I tended toward stories that developed slowly and gradually reached its climax so that I had time to savour the characters and story. Books by Leon Uris were definite favourites of mine; Exodus, Mila 18, Battle Cry, etc. Each character was introduced, his life story developed and then slipped into the plot. Great stuff.

There were some short story collections that I did enjoy back then of course. A.A. Milne's House at Pooh Corner and The House at Pooh Corner, even though children's stories, were favourites of mine, and I didn't read until university.  Isaac Asimov's I, Robot was another excellent collection. I contained 9 short stories, expounding on Asimov's laws of robotics. The stories were both science fiction and mysteries in their own right and featured robots in precarious situations where they had to act and still follow the basic laws. It turned me onto the Robot novels, an excellent series.

Since I've joined Goodreads, my taste in reading has become much more varied. One of my groups, the UK Book Club, features a different genre each month and at least twice over the past years, one of the genres has been the Short Story. So I've begun to experiment more and more with this particular style of writing. This year, as I began to sort out my various challenges, I noticed that I have begun to acquire more and more short story collections. So from January 1st, I've made a conscious decision to have one collection on the go, along with my other choices.

For the most part, I've enjoyed every collection, but there have been some misses as well. My two least favourite have been collections by Science Fiction writers who I've enjoyed very much when I read their novels. William Gibson and Iain M. Banks are excellent and innovative SciFi writers, but while I didn't mind The State of the Art by Banks, as it did help to explain more about the Culture world that he has created, I just didn't get Burning Chrome by Gibson. I did want to like it and there were some stories I didn't mind, such as Red Star and Winter Orbit, I did find it a chore to get through.

There have been others I've tried over the past few years that have got me back into short stories. While they haven't necessarily been four or five star selections, I've still enjoyed. They do also span varied genres which is a good thing as it encourages me to continue finding other books in those genres. Canadian writer Alice Munro is a case in point. While at university, one of the books we had to read as part of my Canadian fiction course was her collection, Lives of Girls and Women. Munro is the mistress of the short story. In 2007, my wife Jo, got me The View from Castle Rock for Xmas. It contained a very personal journey for Munro, stories based on her family back in Scotland and their move to Canada as settlers. It was an excellent series of stories.

I've been slowly collecting novels and short story collections by Horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft since 2013; they can be difficult to find. I have sometimes found his style somewhat cumbersome to read, but he was a writer who influenced so many horror writers that it was well worthwhile to try his collections. I finished The Tomb and Other Tales in October 2014. This was my review of the collection.

"This book contains a series of short stories by HP Lovecraft. I can't say that they were fantastic but it was interesting to read more of Lovecraft's work. The book is broken down into some of his classics, some of his work that he wrote as a late teen to his 20's and then some fragments of dreams he had that were never ultimately turned into stories. He does have a pretty basic theme, that being stories of creatures/ beings that come from some primordial past and infect or debase the minds of people who choose to explore the Satanic or even older beings and religions. Lovecraft never seems to go into great detail about these beings/ creatures, rather he leaves it for the reader to come up with his own images. The characters in the stories often start off by saying something like fearing to go into detail as what they have witnessed is too horrible to describe. There are a couple of different stories in the midst, one involving Harry Houdini in Egypt, which I found quite interesting and one involving an incident on the planet Venus which was nicely different. All in all, I think it's worth trying to find and read Lovecraft's work. This is the third book of his stories, two of short stories and one novel that I've read and his style and story - telling are quite unique. 3.5 stars."

Just this morning, I completed a collection of short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, the creator of English dandy and sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. Lord Peter Views the Body was an excellent collection. It provided more information about Lord Peter and his feelings on crime and his attitude towards friends and how important they might be. The stories can be humorous, but they aren't necessarily cozy mysteries.

"This book contains 12 mysteries featuring Dorothy Sayers' famous sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey and each was unique in its own right and all were interesting and entertaining. I've grown to like Lord Peter very much as I've begun to explore this series. Short stories can be so hit or miss. It all depends on how quickly the author can get into the story and grab your attention and then come to a satisfying resolution. Dorothy Sayers succeeded with this much to my satisfaction. Lord Peter is such a wonderful character and the stories helped develop his character even more. He loves a mystery, loves to snoop and explore diverse situations, and is intelligent at coming up with logical solutions. I loved each story and was very surprised by the last one, The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba as it was quite different from all of the others. Excellent, entertaining read. (4 stars)"

One of my favourite Science Fiction writers over the past few years has been Canadian, Phyllis Gotlieb. Her novels have been unique and so very interesting. A group of characters she has featured more than once are the giant red cats from the planet Ungruwarkh. I've read two collections of short stories featuring the cats and A Judgment of Dragons was the best. Son of the Morning and Other Stories is also worth reading.

"Canadian writer/ poet, Phyllis Gotlieb has written some of my favourite SciFi stories, especially Sunburst. A Judgment of Dragons contains four short stories featuring the giant red cats from the planet Ungruwarkh, the male, Kreng and his telepathic mate, Prandra. Unfortunately, the first story, Son of Morning, was also contained in another book of short stories I'd already read, Son of Morning and Other Stories, but it was still nice to be reintroduced to Prandra and Kreng with that story and then to continue with three other stories featuring the irrepressible pair; The King's Dogs, Nebuchadnezzar and A Judgment of Dragons. The four stories could just as easily have been one novel as the stories follow on one after the other as the two cats go to Gal Three (AKA Earth) so Prandra can learn to use her esp powers better and they can obtain assistance from the Federation in helping the planet Ungruwarkh become more self sufficient. Prandra and Kreng are wonderful characters, grumpy, loving and just fun to read about. Each story is almost a mystery, as the two find themselves in situations that need resolution. The supporting cast; Espinoza, an esp brain who accompanies the in the first story, Kinnear, a blunt security official in the 2nd and 4th stories and others, are all excellent as well. The stories were very enjoyable and just added to my love of Gotlieb's writing."

I won't discuss every collection I've read, but in case you are interested in exploring some others, other 4 star reads have been:

a. Roald Dahl - Tales of the Unexpected (Horror)
b. HP Lovecraft - The Lurking Fear and Other Stories (Horror)
c. John Wyndham - The Seeds of Time (Science Fiction)
d. Joyce Carol Oates - The Museum of Doctor Moses (Suspense / Mystery)
e. J.G. Ballard - Passport to Eternity (Science Fiction)

There have been 3 5-star  reads this past year and I will provide my reviews of them for you.

1. Elizabeth Gaskell - Four Short Stories (Classic)

"This collection of short stories contains 4 stories by writer, Elizabeth Gaskell; The Three Eras of Libbie Marsh (1847), Lizzie Leigh (1855), The Well of Pen-Morfa (1850) and The Manchester Marriage (1858). From the introduction by Anna Walters, they were unique not only because they were written by a woman but also for the subject matter. Popular at that time were stories of the upper classes, where women chiefly looked to be married to fulfil their lives. Gaskell's stories featured women as the protagonists, women who were of the lower classes, who had to struggle to live, single mothers, seamstresses, prostitutes. The stories are hard looks at life, but at the same time, feature tenderness, love and even optimism. I loved how she crafted these tales, well-written, well-described and thoughtful. They were very much a pleasure to read as Gaskell creates such excellent pictures and characters and stories. This was my first experience with Gaskell's writing and I'm very happy that I was able to experience her talent."

2. HP Lovecraft - Necronomicon (Horror)

"An excellent collection of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, from Dagon, originally published in 1919 to The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1943. There are themes throughout, the Old Ones, the area of Arkham, Mass, the Miskatonic University, the Cthulu, etc. The stories are creepy, more so than outright terrifying, but still, leave you feeling nervous and chilled. Some are excellent; the Moutains of Madness, The Dunwich Horror, the Haunter of the Dark, the Thing on the Doorstep. Excellent to be provided the opportunity to explore Lovecraft's worlds and stories under one book."

3. H.H. Munro - The Best of Saki (Fiction/ Humour)

"I heard about Saki (AKA H.H. Munro), a British short story writer from the early 1900's only by chance. I found this book while wandering through a used book store in Kingston, Ontario and bought it partly because I liked the binding. Now that I've read the collection of short stories, I can honestly say how glad that I was to have taken the chance on this book. Saki's stories are funny, witty, sharp and to the point. Each story runs from 3 to 6 pages and each is concise and exact and so well-written. The foreword mentions that writers such as PG Wodehouse, of the Wooster and Jeeves stories, were influenced by Saki's works. I can see the similarities in humour, although Saki is more biting. I was not bored by any of the stories, and there are many in the collection, some made me laugh out loud, some chuckle and many had me thinking about the mind that created them. I don't know if you'll find a similar collection anywhere else. It was an excellent, most enjoyable read."

That's where I am at the moment. I still have a few others to get through this year. I'm looking forward to it. My next book is The Blue Lenses and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier. I have read some of her novels, The House on the Strand and Rebecca (2 of my favourite novels) so I'm looking forward to attempting her short stories.

Below are some of the other books I hope to get to in 2016:

1. Margery Allingham - Mr. Campion; Criminologist (Mystery)
2. Alfred Bester - Dark Side of the Earth (Science Fiction)
3. Gene Wolfe - Storeys from the Old Hotel (Science Fiction)
4. P.G. Wodehouse - The Man with Two Left Feet and Other Stories (Humour)
5. Michael Gilbert - Petrella at Q (Mystery)
6. Ian Fleming - For Your Eyes Only (Spy)
7. Theodore Sturgeon - A Touch of Strange (Science Fiction)
8. Edmund Cooper - News from Elsewhere (Science Fiction)
9. Rex Stout - Death Times Three (Mystery)
10. Agatha Christie - The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Other EntrƩes (Mystery)
11. Margery Allingham - The Allingham Minibus (Mystery)
12. Various - Helsinki Noir (Mystery)

So there you go. I hope you try some of them out.

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Feb 2016 Reading Summary

Another month has passed and we're into March. It's started with steady rain and as I look out the window in the den, yup, still raining. I guess the missus and I will enjoy a cozy day indoors. At least here is footie on the television.

It's that time to take a look back at the past months and see how my Reading Challenges are progressing. Without further ado, here we go.

Goodread's Challenge - 8 books completed in Feb for a total of 19 out of 100. (I'll probably include Necronomicon in this group as I started in Jan but it was so long that I read most of it in February.)

Total Pages - My February total was 2,743 pages and overall in 2016 I've read 6,085.

Page Breakdown -
        < 250  1
250 - 350    4
351 - 450    1
       > 451   2

Author Gender (I didn't include HP Lovecraft in Jan so I will for Feb)
Male - 6
Female - 2

Genre
Mystery - 2
Horror - 2
Classic - 1
Fiction - 1
Humour - 1
SciFi - 1

Rating
5-star  - 2
4-star -  3
3-star -  3

12 + 4 Reading Group Challenge (completed 6 of 16 overall) - This is my Canadian author challenge.

The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella (3 stars)

"Basically this is a baseball fantasy by the author whose Shoeless Joe became the movie, Field of Dreams (which I liked very much). Like Field of Dreams, this deals with an obsession, both a father and, later on, his son, trying to find proof of a fabled month long baseball game between the 1906 Chicago Cubs (remember Tinker to Evers to Chance) and an all-star team of minor-leaguers from the Iowa Baseball Confederacy. However, as much as father and son believe in this game, there is no proof of either the Iowa Baseball Confederacy or the game. This obsession rules both of their lives and affects their relationships. The second half of the book deals with the game; this is the fantasy, as the author and his friend are able to transit from the present to the past to watch and take part in the game. I liked the writing style, but overall, was kind of disappointed with this story. The never-ending game became a bit of a never-ending story. I'm glad I read, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Unfortunate."


The Moche Warrior by Lyn Hamilton (3 stars)

"This is the 3rd book I've read in the Lara McClintoch archaeological mystery series. This story finds Lara rushing off to Peru to try and solve incidents that occurred in Toronto; a fire in her antique shop, an assault on her shop assistant and two murders. I did have some difficulties with the beginning of the book; why would Lara run off and leave her assistant/ friend in the hospital and leave her partner in the lurch without really any word. But once the story got rolling, it was an entertaining read. Maybe a bit far-fetched, but ultimately, a satisfying story. The characters were interesting and the archaeological information not to complicated, just enough to make it interesting. I have a few others in this series on my book shelves and will continue to follow Lara around the world."

Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood (5 stars). This was definitely my favourite book of the month.

"It's been a long while between reading the first two books in this trilogy; Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. Looking back at my reviews, I can see I didn't write much in those days. I think I was somewhat disappointed with the 2nd book, Year of the Flood, but isn't that often the way with the 2nd books of trilogies? So what did I think of MaddAddam? Well, to put it simply, I loved it and even shed a tear or two at the end. It was a fantastic finish to this journey of a group of people trying to survive the end of the world (basically anyway, as the gist is that Crake caused a virus to sweep through the world and kill off most of mankind). This story is written by Toby, one of those wonderful characters you meet in the best of books, a strong woman, trying to survive, to help keep her group together and help it build up humanity once again. The story itself contains stories within stories; Zeb, her lover, telling Toby of his life and how he got to where they now find themselves; and Toby, taking on the story-telling roll of Snowman-the-Jimmy to the new race, the Crakes. As well, this mixed group of humans, Crakes and, even the Pigoons (mutant pigs) must try to prevent the Painballers (a group of psychotic killers) from hurting them anymore. I loved the characters, Toby being my favourite, but also Zeb, Ren, Blackbeard and so many others. It's a heartfelt story and gets better as it moves along. Hoping I don't ruin it, but the ending is positive although with some sadness. I left it with a happy, hopeful mood. Definitely worth 5 stars."

2016 Individual Challenges

SciFi/ Fantasy/ Dystopia/ Horror - I finished my first two books in this challenge in February. I hope to ultimately read at least 12 books.

Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft (5 stars) - I started this book in January. It contains a series of Lovecraft's short stories and novellas. It's a long read, and overall I enjoyed very much.

"An excellent collection of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, from Dagon, originally published in 1919 to The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1943. There are themes throughout, the Old Ones, the area of Arkham, Mass, the Miskatonic University, the Cthulu, etc. The stories are creepy, more so than outright terrifying, but still, leave you feeling nervous and chilled. Some are excellent; the Mountains of Madness, The Dunwich Horror, the Haunter of the Dark, the Thing on the Doorstep. Excellent to be provided the opportunity to explore Lovecraft's worlds and stories under one book. "


Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry (4 stars)

"This was my first experience with Jonathan Maberry and I was very pleased with the story, lots of tension, scary, creepiness and it was very well-written. Frustrated that it left me hanging and now having to look for the 2nd book. I can see why I've read so many good comments about his writing. It reminds me of many of the Stephen King books I enjoyed so many years ago, like It and Desperation.. I liked the good characters very much, Crow, Val and Mike; hated the bad characters very much and want bad things to happen to them. Crow runs a craft-type store that becomes a favourite store for creepy Hallowe'en stuff for Pine Deep residents during that season. He also runs the Hallowe'en rides in the corn fields outside town and gets great joy making them scarier and scarier. Pine Deep has a scary past; a serial killer who was killed by the Bone Man, but, as we discover, isn't really dead. Add a new killer to the mix and various followers of the old evil and you've got a very scary story. I will have to find the next book now... Dead Man's Song"

Classics (pre-1900)  - I hope to read 4 books in this challenge and in February finished my first.
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis (3 stars)

"A strange sort of story originally written in 1796. I'm not sure if it's indicative of the time. If you read the preface, it might lead you to believe that the book isn't worth reading. But ultimately, I found it an interesting story, a Gothic novel about forbidden love, rape, murder, incest and with some supernatural elements. It wanders a bit as each person's story is related but, at the same time, it moves along quite nicely. I admit that I scrolled over the verses and songs. It definitely is a dark story. Am I glad that I read it? I'll say yes. Judge for yourself if you can find a copy."

Ongoing Series - I hope to read 40 or 50 books in this challenge as I've so many series on the go or awaiting my first attempt. I finished one more in February, bringing my overall total to 5)
Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter (Chief Inspector Morse #1) (4 stars)

"This is the first in the Inspector Morse series and introduces us to Morse and Sgt Lewis, who joins Morse for the first time in this book. I've been watching the TV Series based on the books, and oddly enough, this was the 5th in the TV series. Morse is much like he is in the TV series, although there are also some differences, his looks, his car, etc. I enjoyed the mystery, the pacing and how Morse goes about solving the crime. He still likes his beer and his women. Excellent introduction to the series. I'm glad I've started both the TV Series and now the book series."

Book-per-Decade Challenge - I've read 4 books in this challenge. I've discovered that I am now repeating a decade with one of my current reads so we'll see how that affects my overall totals at year-end. I finished one book, covering the period1950 - 59 in Feb)
The Terror of St Trinian's by Ronald Searle (4 stars)

"I enjoyed this book very much, the humour, the drawings and the story. St Trinian's were originally a cartoon series, featuring a nasty girl's school in England where the girls were armed and dangerous. There were a number of books and also a number of movies. The plot of this story, The Terror of St Trinian's doesn't really matter, but basically, it's a competition between gang leader, one Angela Menace and Head Girl, Chloe Languish, over the rights to handsome Board of Education inspector, Rupert Rover. It was one of those unique books that I just found by accident, but there were laugh out loud moments and many chuckles. I will have to try and find the other books in this series, if even just for the excellent drawings. It was fun to read."

Non-Fiction - I didn't complete any books in this challenge in February so remain at 1 of 4 completed. We'll see how March goes but there is lots of time left in the year.

So there you go, my totals for February. It started off a bit slow but I did manage to get into a bit of a flow. Always helps when the books are interesting. I've got 4 books on the go at the moment and am enjoying them all so far. I'll report on them at the end of March. Just want to keep you on tenterhooks.

Have a great March and keep on reading.
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