Book Purchases - November 2016

I was pretty darn good when it came to buying books in November. Considering I took an annual trip to North Bay and visited Allison the Bookman, I only bought 9 books this month. I think the fact that I was trying to travel very light this trip, that I only bought 3 books at Allison's. Three of the books purchased have already been highlighted as parts of my 2017 Reading Challenges, so I'll only mention them in passing and provide a link to the write-up on the applicable pages.

1. The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper. I bought this at Nearly New Books in Comox and plan to make it one of my first two Classic reads in 2017. This the link to the synopsis. You can find it under the Classics heading.

2. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. This is one of two books I bought in November that I plan to read in my New Fiction group. I purchased it at 2nd Page Books in Courtenay.

3. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I purchased this at Nearly New Books. This is the link for the synopses of this book and Fingersmith.

4. Anathem by Neil Stephenson. - I found this at Nearly New Books. I had been looking for a book by Stephenson as I'd seen his name listed in various other Science Fiction books I've read.

"For ten years Fraa Erasmas, a young avout, has lived in a cloistered sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside world. But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change - and Erasmas will become a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world, as he follows his destiny to the most inhospitable corners of the planet... and beyond."

5. Gently By the Shore by Alan Hunter. This is the 2nd book in the George Gently mystery series. I've read the first and have been looking for the 2nd book for awhile. I finally ordered it from Goldstone Books.

"In a British seaside holiday resort at the height of the season, you would expect to find a promenade and a pier, maybe some donkeys, kiss-me-quick hats, candyfloss, and kids building sandcastles. You would not expect to find a  naked corpse, punctured with stab wounds, lying on the sand.
Chief Inspector George Gently is called in to investigate the disturbing murder. The case needs to be wrapped up quickly to calm the nerves of concerned holidaymakers. No one wants to think there is a maniac on the loose in the town but with no clothes or identifying marks on the body, Gently has a tough time establishing who the victim is, let alone finding the killer.
In the meantime, who knows where or when the murderer might strike again?"

6. It's a Battlefield by Graham Greene. In the past few years, I've enjoyed reacquainting myself with Greene's writing. I've slowly been finding his earliest works. It's a Battlefield is his 3rd published work, originally published in 1934. I purchased this from Goldstone Books as well.

"Drover, a Communist bus-driver, has been sentenced to death for killing a policeman in a political riot because he thought the policeman was going to strike his wife.
A bitter irony hovers over the ensuing battles to save Drover: the Assistant Commissioner overworked and afraid of retirement; a paranoid Chief Clerk; Conder, a pathetic journalist living off his fantasies; a haunted Fabian economist; and pretty, promiscuous Kay - all have a part to play in his fate."

7. The Human Factor by Graham Greene. This is the 2nd Greene book I purchased in November, this one from Nearly New Books. It was one of his last works and sounds like an excellent spy novel.

"A leak is traced to a small sub-section of SIS, sparking off the inevitable security checks, tensions and suspicions. The sort of atmosphere, perhaps, where mistakes could be made?
For Maurice Castle - dull, but brilliant with files - it is the end of the line anyway, and it is time to retire to live peacefully with his African wife, Sarah.
To the lonely, isolated world of the Secret Service graham Greene brings his brilliance and perception, laying bare a machine that sometimes overlooks the subtle and secret motivations that impel us all."

8. Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser. This is the 2nd book in the Flashman series. I purchased it from Goldstone Books.

"In this second volume of The Flashman Papers, Flashman, the arch-cad and toady, matches his wits, his talents for deceit and malice, and above all his speed in evasion against the most brilliant European statesman and against the most beautiful and unscrupulous adventuress of the era. From London gaming-halls and English hunting-fields to European dungeons and throne-rooms, he is involved in a desperate succession of escapes, disguises, amours, and (when he cannot avoid them) hand-to-hand combats while the destiny of a continent rests on his broad and failing shoulders. Courtesans and prize-fighters, assassins and duellists, crowned heads and chambermaids crowd the pages of his memoirs, while old Flashy scuttles nimbly from cover to cover."

9. The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters. Walters is probably my favourite writer of standalone mysteries. She can create interesting characters and develops excellent stories. I've read about six of her books so far. This book is one of her latest efforts, published in 2007. I found it at Nearly New Books.

"It wasn't feat he was feeling. It as anger. Incredible anger. It ripped through his body like a tide, urging him to put his hands around her slender neck and squeeze the life out of her...
Having received severe head injuries in Iraq, Lieutenant Charles Acland cuts all ties with is former life and moves to London. Disfigured, alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a private world of guilt and paranoia. When a customer annoys in a Bermondsey pub, he attracts the attention of the police, who are investigating three murders that seem to have been motivated by extreme rage...
Under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the real issues behind his isolation. How much control does he have over the dark side of his personality? Do his crippling migraines contribute to his rage? Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancée claims?
And why - if he hates women - does he look to a woman for help?"

So there you go. Any interest you?