Well, since we're into November, it's time for my monthly reading update. October wasn't as productive as previous months. Maybe because I had a fair number of bigger books that have carried over to November. Or maybe I was just a bit lazier. I think I'll choose the former. :0)
Anyway, below is my statistical summary and a look at the books I've read and challenges I've been working on.
Oct 2019
General Info Oct Total
Books Read - 8 120
Pages Read - 2,300 34,400
Pages Breakdown
< 250 3 52
250 - 350 3 30
351 - 450 1 26
> 450 1 12
Ratings
5 - star 1 6
4 - star 1 60
3 - star 5 50
2 - star 1 4
Gender
Female 3 49
Male 5 71
Genres
Fiction 3 17
Mystery 2 75
SciFi 3 22
Non-Fic 5
Classics 1
Poetry
Top 3 Books
"The World of Suzie Wong is my first exposure to the work of English writer Richard Mason. Mason lived from 1919 - 1997 and over the course of his life he wrote six novels. Suzie Wong was his fifth novel and written in 1957. The book was converted to a movie in 1960, starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan. The book had that feel to it, in my mind, you know, a Sunday afternoon matinee on TCM.
Suzie Wong is a Chinese prostitute, a bar girl, who works in Hong Kong. Robert Lomax is an Englishman. The story starts in British Malaya, where Robert works on a plantation. The owner has strict rules about the men are not allowed to fraternize with the native Malaysian girls. So to keep himself occupied Robert begins painting. Eventually, he decides to move to Hong Kong and paint there. Being limited in his funds and wanting to live in the real Chinese part of Hong Kong, he rents room in a hotel in Wanchai. The hotel is frequented by bar girls, Chinese prostitutes, who stay in the bar and pick up British and American sailors who frequent the place. They then use the rooms in the hotel with their pickups.
Robert loves the atmosphere of the hotel, uses his balcony to paint. He loves the girls, becomes a confidante of theirs. He meets Suzie Wong and they develop a close friendship with her. He loves her personality, her attitudes, her humour, everything about her. Theirs is not a sexual relationship,, in fact, he has no sexual relationships with any of the girls. He just likes the atmosphere, is inspired by the area... and it does suit his limited finances.
The two, Suzie and Robert, are like best friends. Suzie has various relationships during the course of the story and Robert is still a close friend and becomes acquaintances with these other men. It's an interesting dynamic, this relationship, Suzie using Robert's room, as a place to hang out, to discuss her life and Robert's life and their attitudes and feelings.
Of course, the feelings between the two do progress and the development of a relationship between them is well-presented. All in all, the story is interesting, emotional, peopled with excellent characters; the other girls, while not crafted in great detail, are still presented as wonderful women and individuals. The story has great emotional content and rises and falls with the various incidents that occur over the course of this excellent story. One thing that struck me, and maybe it's because I'm a man, the somewhat misogynist attitude of Robert that becomes apparent when his relationship with Suzie becomes more and more personal. Suzie doesn't want to be a bar girl if she's going to have a relationship with Robert, but then how will she support her child. Robert's attitude to this is interesting. I won't get into it but I'd be interested to see what a woman would think of it. I think it's pretty clear without me describing it.
Anyway, that little bit does not detract from the excellent story that Mason tells. It's a satisfying character driven story that will leave you feeling excellent. (5 stars)"
"The Cat Who Saw Red is the 4th book in the Qwilleran and his Siamese cats mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun, the 3rd that I've enjoyed and so far I think my favorite. For those unfamiliar with the stories, Qwilleran is a reporter for The Daily Fluxion and in the course of his assignments gets involved with a variety of mysteries. Over the course of the stories he acquires to Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, both of whom assist him in solving mysteries an also keep him from getting to badly hurt.
In The Cat Who Saw Red, we find Qwilleran with a new assignment with the newspaper, that being the new gastronomical editor, responsible for exploring the foodies of the city. During his first assignment, he meets an old girl friend who has moved to the city, is a potter and is married. They live in the Maus Haus, a residence peopled with a wonderfully quirky cast of characters. It turns out that there is an apartment available in the building, so Qwill decides it's time that he makes a move in his stale life and therefore he and his canine cohorts uproot and move to new digs.
The house has a mysterious history, that being the unexplained deaths, many years before, of two of the residents. And there are mysterious disappearances in the present day as well. His old girlfriend's cat has disappeared. She tells Qwill that she can't live with her husband anymore and wants to get a divorce. Qwill, somewhat living in the past and with romantic feelings for her still, digs into his limited resources and writes a cheque to help her with her divorce proceedings. Then she disappears. And another person disappears later on.
While Qwill and his cats explore these mysterious disappearances, he also makes the rounds of various eating establishment, on the Fluxion's dime of course, bringing various of the residents with him for free dinners. Of course, Qwill gets this new assignment just as he decides to go on a diet because he's feeling somewhat rotund. How do your write articles on food when you don't eat? What a conundrum!
Anyway, the story is an enjoyable ride. The mysteries are interesting enough and fun enough to keep you engrossed in the story and the fun characters. Qwill is a great character in his own right but the addition of his cats, who he clearly adores, add to the quality of the stories. Most enjoyable and I look forward to more adventures of the mystery - solving threesome. (4 stars)"
"Sharpe's Sword is the 14th book in the Sharpe's adventure / historical series by Bernard Cornwell. This story is set during the period June / July 1812 during Wellington's Salamanca Campaign in Spain. Sharpe is attached to Wellington's spy master Maj Hogan to try and find a master French spy, Colonel Leroux. Leroux is a nasty man and is set on finding El Mirador, one of Hogan's most effective contacts.
Leroux has been captured but disguised himself as another officer and escapes into a French fort near Salamanca, even though having given his parole. He kills Sharpe's company commander and a young lieutenant while making his escape. Sharpe and his men, especially his faithful Sgt Harper, because they can recognize Leroux are assigned the task of finding him when Wellington attacks to take over the three forts held by the French.
There is also a spy within Wellington's camp who warns the French of the attack, with disastrous results. There are many suspects including a Spanish contessa with designs on Sharpe, Lord Spears, one of Hogan's spies who is recovering from an injury and spending much time with the Contessa and Sharpe, and Father Curtis, an Irish priest who seems to show up everywhere.
It all makes for a great action-filled adventure, with battles, intrigue and romance. Sharpe wants Leroux's sword and to capture the French spy. Sharpe's life is threatened many times (it is an adventure, eh? :0)). All in all, one of the better Sharpe adventures, filled with excellent characters and an interesting plot. I do like how Cornwell ties the actual historical events into Sharpe's storyline and highlights the actual history in the afterword. I've enjoyed this series very much and look forward to getting the next book in the series. (3.5 stars)"
12 + 4 Challenge (completed 16) (Challenge Complete)
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Papa Bear Challenge (Books I've had the longest on my Goodreads bookshelf)
1. Sharpe's Sword by Bernard Cornwell (3.5 stars)
Mama Bear Challenge (Middle of my Goodreads bookshelf)
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Baby Bear Challenge (Books most recently added to my Goodreads bookshelf)
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Goldilocks Challenge (Random Number Generator)
2. The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun (4 stars)
Break from Challenges Challenge (Freebees every time I complete 10 books)
3. Tank Girl 2 by Alan C. Martin (3 stars)
Freebies
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Challenges from Other Groups
4. The World of Suzie Wong by Richard Mason (5 stars)
5. French Alley by Matthew Clay (2 stars)
September Individual Genre Challenge - Women Authors
6. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton (3 stars)
7. The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly (3.5 stars)
October Individual Genre Challenge - Horror
8. Relic by Preston & Child (3.5 stars)
Nov 2019 Books Currently Reading
2. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
3. The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry
4. Middlemarch by George Eliot
5. The Passage by Justin Cronin
6. The Last Temptation by Val McDermid
7. Nobody True by James Herbert
Next Possibles in line
(My November genre of focus is War, even though I've got to finish off a number of other books first)
2. J. Sidney Jones - The German Agent
3. The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Have a great November!
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